Mora blocked in Famalicão box, no penalty: where's the consistency? | OneFootball

An incident in the Famalicão penalty area is sparking debate over an alleged double standard in refereeing. In the footage, Mora appears near the ball and is eventually brought down already in a finishing position, at a moment when play continued without any sanction.

The comparison comes just a few days after the Sporting vs Santa Clara match in the Primeira Liga at Alvalade, where a goal by Gonçalo Paciência was disallowed after VAR intervention. In that game, from the most recent round of the championship, the striker scored in the 82nd minute, but the move was ruled out for an attacking foul in the build-up. Later on, Paciência scored again and Sporting eventually won 4-2.

The contrast between the two episodes is fuelling controversy, especially because of the similarity in the contact and the different disciplinary and technical interpretation of the incidents. In Mora’s case, the impression left by the footage is that the player had a chance to challenge for the ball with his right foot before being hit, in an action that could have justified the maximum punishment.

With no favourable decision in the match against Famalicão, the incident is thus added to the list of refereeing episodes that continue to shape the current Portuguese football landscape, on an issue that remains under intense scrutiny whenever there is contact inside the penalty area and intervention — or the absence of it — from the refereeing team.

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