Hulk blasts refereeing after tense first half at Maracanã: “No backbone” | OneFootball

Tricolor forward criticizes referee’s attitude during the derby against Vasco

The first half of the derby between Fluminense and Vasco, played on Saturday night at the Maracanã, was marked by a heated atmosphere, hard challenges, and plenty of complaints. The referee’s performance caused strong dissatisfaction among the players, especially on the tricolor side, who questioned the lack of a clear standard in the issuing of bookings.

As they headed into halftime, forward Hulk voiced the squad’s frustration and harshly criticized the referee’s attitude on the field, mentioning a heated argument between the officiating team and forward Canobbio.

— In a match of this size, one of the biggest derbies in Brazil, you can’t have a referee with no personality. That’s unacceptable. If you look at that play where Canobbio is going for the ball, I think with Paulo Henrique, he chest-bumps Canobbio — I’ve never seen that in football anywhere in the world. The referee chest-bumping a player — said the forward.

— All we ask for is consistency. If there’s consistency, there are no complaints, but there isn’t any. There isn’t any consistency. Because there are plays where he should give a second yellow and he doesn’t, but if the player doesn’t already have a yellow, he gives the first one — he added.

The first half ended with five outfield players shown yellow cards. For Vasco, Paulo Henrique and Gómez were booked. For Fluminense, center-back Ignácio was cautioned for a foul, while Soteldo and Hulk were booked for dissent.

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