Abel Ferreira laments Libertadores final vs Flamengo as Palmeiras debut

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·11 gennaio 2026

Abel Ferreira laments Libertadores final vs Flamengo as Palmeiras debut

Abel Ferreira mentions 'asterisk' due to Flamengo player's non-expulsion in the 2025 Libertadores final

The defeat to Flamengo in the final of the 2025 Copa Libertadores still hurts Palmeiras and coach Abel Ferreira. Not surprisingly, the Portuguese coach spoke about the matter again last Saturday (10) and mentioned that the decision remains with an 'asterisk'.

In summary, after Palmeiras' 1-0 victory against Portuguesa-SP in the Paulista Championship on Saturday (10), Abel Ferreira recalled the Libertadores final. This is because, according to the Portuguese coach, Flamengo was 'helped' by the refereeing.

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We learned last year, even the VAR learned, didn't you see? I don't know if the Libertadores VAR was different from this one. But it's very sad when you see that in a much worse incident they followed the rules with the VAR, and in a Libertadores final with supposedly top VAR and top referee... There's the proof of how the Palmeiras coach is sometimes annoying. But we often say that Palmeiras didn't shoot on goal, Palmeiras was incompetent in the final, but this asterisk no one will remove, and today you had proof of that.

What is the reason for Abel's complaints?

In summary, after a midfield clash with Arrascaeta, Palmeiras defender Bruno Fuchs fell to the ground. Shortly after, the player got up and engaged in a challenge with midfielder Erick Pulgar, who ended up hitting the opponent. However, on that occasion, the VAR reviewed the play and highlighted that it was not for expulsion.

However, it's worth noting that a similar incident happened against Flamengo in the first half. This is because Raphael Veiga hit Jorge Carrascal in the same way that Erick Pulgar hit Fuchs. Following the same criteria, referee Darío Herrera did not give a yellow card and let the game continue.

And what was the result of the Libertadores?

Despite Palmeiras trying to attribute the defeat to the refereeing performance, Flamengo won the game on the field. With a stunning goal by Danilo, the Most Beloved secured the fourth Libertadores title, winning 1-0 at the Monumental U in Lima, Peru.

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