Filipe Luís, Léo Ortiz and Saúl slam Flamengo ref: “Knew it’d be tough” | OneFootball

Refereeing was a topic after Flamengo x Cruzeiro match

When the name of Ramon Abatti Abel came up on the roster to referee the match between Flamengo and Cruzeiro, Filipe Luís already predicted complications, which were confirmed. With different criteria and many fouls, the referee disrupted the flow of the match. After the 0-0 draw on Thursday (02), the coach, Léo Ortiz and Saúl complained.

— Well, every time I, as a coach, sat in this chair here, I chose not to talk about the referees... but it's hard. It's hard, honestly. Because you have feelings on the sideline, you're watching the referee blow the whistle. When his name came up we already knew it would be complicated. The profile of the referee who referees the Flamengo match, when the list comes out, you already know it's going to be complicated. So, what can I say? The game starts, the decisions are not the same. As you yourselves said, the criteria are not the same. Cards first and then doesn't give a card, then gives a card in a play that he didn't give before. Yeah, I don't know —, said Filipe Luís.

— I don't know if he was nervous, if he was afraid to referee, but these things transmit to the players, it makes the game slow, it makes the game boring, bad for the viewer. And our reference, as you said, to improve, is the Premier League. We have to copy the referees from the Premier League always, the way they do it. We have good referees in Brazil, the way they referee there, is to try to copy as much as possible from the best. That's it. I do this as a coach, I copy from the best. It's the only way to improve. But you know well how much a referee who referees the game hurts us —, added the coach.

WHAT DID THE PLAYERS SAY?

In the mixed zone of Maracanã, Léo Ortiz and Saúl reinforced Filipe Luís's speech. The defender tried not to touch on the subject too much to avoid reprisals, but called for more uniform refereeing for the continuation of the Brasileirão 2025.

— It's very annoying to talk about refereeing, I even apologize. The change of criteria from one referee to another is bothersome. This is the most harmful. Cruzeiro was also bothered. When both teams are bothered, it's complicated. It's not good for us to expose ourselves with this. One moment or another we will play with this same referee. We have to think of a unique way for referees to referee, to have a standard —, began Léo Ortiz.

— The refereeing breaks the rhythm a bit. Cruzeiro's strategy was to break our rhythm in this way. And the referee stopped a lot, and we were always seeking the game. Above all, the group has to overcome this, compete. But we get anxious, want to fight —, concluded the defender.

HAVE YOU GOTTEN USED TO IT, SAÚL?

Adapted to the European refereeing model, Saúl still struggles to get used to Brazilian refereeing. The Spaniard revealed that he spoke with Abatti Abel to make the match more dynamic, but was unsuccessful in his request.

— We told him that the most important thing for the game was to give it fluidity. But he gave many unnecessary yellows, stopped the game a lot. Let them play! They were not hard fouls, but tactical ones. But anyway, this is an external issue, we focus on ourselves. We played three home games and couldn't win, only draw. Now it's time to think about Sunday to get the three points —, lamented Saúl.

WHEN IS FLAMENGO'S NEXT MATCH?

Expecting better refereeing, Flamengo faces Bahia, this Sunday (05), in Salvador, for the 27th round of the Brasileirão. Therefore, the ball rolls from 18:30 (Brasília time), at Arena Fonte Nova, with full coverage from Coluna do Fla.

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