João Diogo Manteigas on Pinheiro’s delay in Benfica v Porto: "Looked like a..." | OneFootball

João Diogo Manteigas, former candidate for the presidency of Benfica, reacted this Monday morning to the news that Porto left Estádio da Luz more than two hours after the end of the Clássico (2-2), due to a meeting between João Pinheiro and Lucílio Baptista regarding the refereeing performance in the match — with it recently being confirmed that this was not the reason for the delay.

"Not all referees need post-match mentors. For younger referees, it might even make sense. Up to a certain point. But for international referees, already with experience in high-level (and high-risk) matches, this seems more like an immediate psychology session to provide comfort for mistakes and boost morale for the future," he began writing on the social network 'LinkedIn'.

As a result, João Diogo Manteigas pointed out: "After matches, the pressure referees face for mistakes made VS their possible personal satisfaction with the work done and the scrutiny they will be subjected to with media influence, are part of their preparation and shape them to become true “professionals”."

For the lawyer, 'external' participation should also count: "More oversight is needed. Especially from the outside in. From Clubs and Sports Societies. Not just from members of the Refereeing Council or technical directors of the Federation or the League appointed for that purpose. Everyone has a say in helping to define the system (in a non-pejorative sense).

In conclusion, the former candidate for the Benfica presidency was quite direct: It is necessary for the general public – members, fans, journalists, and other interested parties – to have access to the referees’ observers’ reports, to the evaluations that determine promotions and demotions of categories (referees and VAR), to the justification for appointments to certain matches in order to determine the existence of “standard deviations”, and to “VAR” communications so that these can be freely and openly debated."

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