Referee expert on Benfica incident and Gonçalo Inácio controversy | OneFootball

Iturralde González was adamant in his assessment of the most controversial moments of the fifth round of the Liga Portugal Betclic: the former international referee writes in the newspaper Record, that Paulo Vítor was rightly sent off by João Pinheiro in the Santa Clara - Benfica match, and that Gonçalo Inácio should have seen a red card from António Nobre, in the Famalicão - Sporting match. Remember that the referee for the match against Qarabag is also already known.

Regarding the incident in the Benfica game, he explained the following: "Very well done by the VAR in alerting the referee. It is a clear red card play, due to a serious foul. Most likely, the player did not intend to hit the opponent in the face, but when you contest the ball with your leg so high, you run the risk of, at the very least, being cautioned."

"If you go in with studs up and hit hard in the face, it's a sending off. In this type of action, intention has been removed from the regulations. It's certain he didn't want to hit him in the head, but by contesting the ball in this way, with studs up, it's a red card," concluded Iturralde González.

On the other hand, the refereeing expert believes that the referee of the Famalicão - Sporting match failed to show a red card to Gonçalo Inácio: "For me, it's a cautionable play. It's not a VAR play, as it can only intervene in direct red card situations. With the second yellow, it never comes in. But let's observe how the player disguises the movement when he hits the Famalicão player. Often, if there is an arm movement to the chest or throat, the action is very clear and there would be no doubt. Here he seeks contact with the whole body. It's not just the arm moving, but the whole body."

"It's a very dangerous, reckless play and for me deserving of a second yellow. Players train all week and disguise: defenders with their hands and hits, forwards with penalties or situations where they feign. Here the player places his arm very high and with his body hits the opponent, putting himself in the position of the opposing player. He is not just protecting himself and ends up hitting him. Second yellow," concluded Iturralde González.

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