Controversial referee chosen to officiate Sporting v Tondela | OneFootball

The Arbitration Council of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) announced last Monday, April 27, the refereeing team appointed for the postponed 26th round of the Liga Portugal Betclic. Fábio Veríssimo was chosen to officiate the match between Sporting and Tondela.

The referee from the Leiria Football Association was appointed as the main official for the clash and will be assisted by Hugo Marques and Vasco Marques. Luís Filipe will be the fourth official, while Bruno Esteves will be on VAR duty. Catarina Campos will be the AVAR.

It should be remembered that Fábio Veríssimo has a controversial refereeing history involving Sporting. The Portuguese referee has officiated only one of the Lions’ matches this season — the Super Cup against Benfica — and five games in 2024/2025, with the first controversy coming against Famalicão, when the green-and-whites appealed for a penalty that was not awarded after a challenge by Mihaj on Gyokeres. Against AVS, the Alvalade club also had reason to complain. An incident involving Diomande and Lucas Piázon, which resulted in a penalty for AVS, was also heavily disputed by Sporting, who did not believe the centre-back had committed a foul. The match eventually ended in a draw (2-2).

At this stage, Rui Borges’ men have 72 points and remain in third place in the standings. Porto (82) are in first place (with one more game played). Benfica are second with 75, also having played one more match.

The match, counting for the 31st round of the Liga Portugal Betclic, against the side led by João Henriques, will be played in Vila das Aves at 8:30 pm.

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