São Paulo v Grêmio gets controversial Minas referee, back from ban | OneFootball

São Paulo’s return to the pitch after 12 days without a match, against Grêmio next Saturday (8), already has its refereeing team defined by the CBF.

And the man in charge of the whistle will be Minas Gerais native André Luiz Skettino Policarpo Bento, who has already been involved in some recent controversies over the last few seasons of Brazilian football and was even suspended by the CBF after mistakes.

The Tricolor’s clash, which will take place at Grêmio’s arena in Porto Alegre (RS) at 4 p.m. (Brasília time), will also have Bruno Raphael Pires (GO) and Guilherme Dias Camilo (MG) as André Luiz’s on-field assistants, while Santa Catarina native Heber Roberto Lopes will be in charge of the VAR booth.

As the CBF routinely states, the selection of referees is defined taking into account the stages of the competition, the importance and degree of complexity of each match, and the referees’ qualifications, physical condition, and technical performance.

André Luiz Bento has officiated more Série B matches this season, and in top-flight Brazilian league games he has usually worked as the fourth official. In November 2025, he officiated São Paulo’s 2-1 win over Juventude in the Brasileirão.

Punishment and controversies

The Minas Gerais referee was also suspended by the CBF at the start of 2024 for an error in the Atlético-GO vs. Flamengo match, right in the opening round of the Brasileirão. On that occasion, the Goiás side complained about a penalty awarded in stoppage time to the Rio club. The match ended in a Flamengo victory and sparked heavy criticism and complaints from Atlético’s side.

In the previous season, in 2023, André Bento also refereed some matches that ended amid controversy, and he was then assigned to work lower-profile matches in national competitions.

Now, André Luiz will have another chance to prove his worth in Saturday’s São Paulo vs. Grêmio match, in the 22nd round of the Brasileirão. Tricolor sits in 12th place in the table with 28 points, while the team from Rio Grande do Sul opens the relegation zone in 17th place with 22 points. In the first half of the season, the home side won 2-1 at Morumbi, still with Hernán Crespo in charge.

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