Tense history between FC Porto and referee Luís Godinho reignited | OneFootball

The Arbitration Council of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) has appointed Luís Godinho to officiate the Classic match of the 21st round of the Primeira Liga, scheduled to start at 8:45 PM (Portuguese mainland time) on Monday, February 9, at Estádio do Dragão.

The referee from the Évora Football Association will lead a team composed of Rui Teixeira and Pedro Mota (assistants), Hélder Malheiro (fourth official), Tiago Martins (VAR), and Pedro Felisberto (AVAR), in a match expected to be intense between the two teams occupying the top two spots, separated by just four points and a history full of disputes.

The blue and white team was the first to criticize the 40-year-old referee in February 2021, when the first leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-finals, at the Municipal Stadium of Braga, ended in a 1-1 draw.

At that time, Mehdi Taremi opened the scoring in the 9th minute and Fransérgio equalized 12 minutes past regulation time, in a match also marked by the expulsions of Luis Díaz and Matheus Uribe and which was heavily criticized through the Dragões Diário newsletter.

“This time, at the second time in Pedreira, one expulsion was not enough to prevent FC Porto from winning. This time, it took two for Braga to draw (1-1). And they did it 12 minutes past the 90, in a game – the first leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-finals – that the dragons played with a numerical disadvantage for more than half an hour, after an absurd expulsion of Luis Díaz, severely penalized for the serious and fortuitous injury of David Carmo in a play where he committed no foul,” it read.

“Because Luís Godinho and Hugo Miguel played with football, Mehdi Taremi, the Iranian forward who is on the cover of the latest edition of Dragões and scored the fifth goal in five Portuguese Cup games with a perfect lob over Matheus, was forcibly left for the end, overshadowed by the refereeing blunders that eased Braga's discomfort for the rematch at Dragão, on the occasion of the second leg,” it added.

Luís Godinho even received death threats and was escorted home by police officers. Following the events, the then FC Porto communications officer, Francisco J. Marques, took to the social network X (formerly Twitter) to criticize him and was suspended for 45 days.

Draw in Famalicão led to new ‘attack’ from FC Porto on Luís Godinho

In December 2024, with André Villas-Boas already presiding over the club, FC Porto once again directed harsh criticism at Luís Godinho after another 1-1 draw in Famalicão, a result built by accurate shots from Óscar Aranda and Samu Aghehowa, in the 43rd and 52nd minutes, respectively.

“These are decisions that are made. What bothers me the most is seeing different criteria in different games. It's the lack of uniformity that should guide everyone. It's rewarding anti-football. We don't value football. The opposing team keeps wasting time, it was evident from the start... it was too obvious. In the end, we lack the courage to restore what should be restored,” said Vítor Bruno, then the blue and white coach.

The club filed a complaint against the referee with the FPF Arbitration Council. This occurred about ten months after FC Porto used social media to criticize him due to the refereeing in the 2-2 draw between Vitória SC and Benfica, at Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, where they contested the non-expulsion of Florentino Luís in a play considered worthy of a second yellow card.

“Not showing a yellow card in this play, which would have been the second, was not because he didn't see it, it was really to give a little help. And it worked, with the equalizing goal coming a minute later. But there will be no shortage of those who will pretend it didn't happen and Luís Godinho will continue to spread magic,” the blue and white club stated then.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.