CBF names Alex Gomes Stefano for Atlético v Sport at Arena MRV | OneFootball

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has released the refereeing lineup for the match between Atlético and Sport, which takes place this Wednesday (08), at 7:00 PM, at Arena MRV, in a rescheduled game from the 14th round of the Brazilian Championship. The match will be officiated by Alex Gomes Stefano, from Rio de Janeiro, who returns to referee a Galo match.

The assistants will be Rodrigo Figueiredo Henrique Corrêa, also from Rio, and Alex Sandro Quadros Thomé, from Roraima.

This will be Atlético's fifth game under Alex Stefano’s refereeing in this year’s Brasileirão. However, the record is not favorable for the Minas Gerais club: in four matches, there have been three losses and only one win — against Ceará, away from home.

Previous Controversies

The referee’s relationship with Atlético has had some notable episodes. In the match between Atlético and Grêmio at Arena MRV, Alex Stefano drew negative attention by sending off four players, two from each team. The most controversial incident involved Junior Alonso and Dodi, near the end of the game, when video referee Caio Max Augusto Vieira recommended a review of the expulsions.

Even after reviewing the incident, Stefano upheld his decisions, which were considered mistaken by refereeing analysts, since the plays would, at most, warrant a yellow card. In the internal VAR communication, it was possible to hear someone trying to warn him: “Alex, Alex, Alex, pay attention to the VAR, man. Come on, Alex”. The referee replied: “I will stick with my decision!”

Besides the controversy against Grêmio, in the win over Ceará, the referee also erred by not sending off the midfielder Diego from the northeastern team, who struck Rony’s face with his boot studs, a play that drew complaints from Atlético’s squad.

Alex Stefano was also responsible for Atlético’s matches against Palmeiras and Vitória, both away from home, thus completing the recent history of the referee with the Minas Gerais club.

Atlético is looking to turn the page and achieve a good result at home. At the moment, Galo is in 15th place in the Brasileirão, with 29 points. There are only 4 points separating them from Vitória, the first team in the relegation zone.

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