Benfica-Tondela scandal, Sporting's rival 'helped' by referee | OneFootball

Pedro Henriques had no doubts in his assessment: Benfica benefited from a non-existent penalty in the match against Tondela. The two teams met in a quarter-final match of the League Cup, after Sporting had already qualified for the final four of the competition.

The Benfica - Tondela match was tied at zero at the Estádio da Luz until the 41st minute, when Nicolas Otamendi opened the scoring with a penalty kick. A play that left many fans doubtful, as the images did not seem to show any infraction. This opinion was shared by refereeing expert Pedro Henriques, who analyzed the play in the newspaper A Bola.

"The VAR calls the referee to initially show him a still image where the ball is touching the right arm/elbow of Afonso Rodrigues. As the arm is raised and slightly away from the body, it gives room to objectively say that it is in an unnatural position," the former referee began to write.

Pedro Henriques continued with more clarifications: "But the issue is that the dynamics of the play show another reality, there is a header by Leandro Barreiro right on top of the opponent, with the ball a meter away, that is, a close-range header, technically called an unexpected ball."

"The player is caught by surprise, with almost simultaneous contact between both, given the proximity. In my opinion, and in this specific play, I think football does not expect a penalty to be called in these circumstances. I consider the decision to award a penalty kick to be incorrect," concluded Pedro Henriques, regarding the play in the Benfica - Tondela match, which qualified the Eagles for the final four of the League Cup, where Sporting is also present.

Check here the replay of the dubious play that resulted in a penalty for Benfica:

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