Before Sporting v Benfica, João Pinheiro is told: should be jailed | OneFootball

, the referee appointed for Sunday’s derby between Sporting and Benfica (6:00 p.m.), and the only Portuguese representative at the next World Cup, was at the center of controversy in the match between Strasbourg and Mainz (4-0), corresponding to the second leg of the Conference League quarter-finals.

The Portuguese official was the target of harsh criticism from Gary O'Neil, coach of the French side, at the end of the match. He did not hide his indignation and even went so far as to say that the referee who will be in charge of the eternal derby "should be arrested".

The controversial moment came in the 19th minute, when Diego Moreira fell to the ground clutching his face after an incident with Dominik Kohr. João Pinheiro awarded a foul and showed a yellow card to the German team player, a decision that provoked an angry reaction from Strasbourg’s coach. "This is crazy! Crazy! He should be arrested. He is bad!" he shouted toward the fourth official, joined by members of his coaching staff. "It was an elbow. He hit him with his elbow," could be heard, according to Canal+ footage.

The match in question was also marked by tense moments at the end, with a general scuffle that led João Pinheiro to show several cards and put him even more under the spotlight in Europe after his performance and decisions.

The green-and-white side takes the field next Sunday, April 19, against Benfica. The match, counting for Matchday 30 of the Liga Portugal Betclic, against the team coached by José Mourinho, will be played at 6:00 p.m. at the José Alvalade Stadium.

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