Duarte Gomes backs João Pinheiro: Benfica match not an MMA ring | OneFootball

Duarte Gomes believes that Paulo Victor was rightly sent off in the Benfica - Santa Clara match after a very violent tackle on Tomás Araújo, who ended up being substituted. In the usual release of the VAR audios, the National Technical Director of Refereeing of the Portuguese Football Federation defended João Pinheiro's decision.

"I can understand people who look at the play and don't want to see a red card. The player apparently had no malice and is pointing to the ball. The problem is that when a player contests a ball, he is obliged to be careful. In this case, he did not have this concern and more importantly, he went in with the sole of his boot", Duarte Gomes began to say.

"It starts at the head, goes through the ear, the chest, and ends at the thigh. We want a red card in these plays. They may say that the criterion is strict, because they are thinking more about the offender. We think more about the victim. It's not an MMA ring, nor a game where we allow contacts that cause blood or possible serious injuries", added Duarte Gomes, praising the decision of the VAR and João Pinheiro.

"It happened with Gonçalo Inácio with Arouca, in the Vitória - Porto match Tiago Silva should have been given the red card. It's an attack on very dangerous areas of the body and can cause real harm to the player. I focus my attention on the one who suffers the foul. João Pinheiro had already switched his chip to red after seeing Tomás Araújo bleed. He saw the consequence", Duarte Gomes recalls.

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