Farioli questions refs: “Strange to get bookings at 3-0 up” | OneFootball

Shortly after FC Porto's comfortable victory over Casa Pia (4-0) at the Estádio do Dragão this Sunday, Francesco Farioli appeared at the press conference to review the third round of the I Liga, where he was questioned about the refereeing and the classic match against Sporting, scheduled for Saturday.

"I had already said yesterday that I would like to avoid talking about referees, but the truth is that I was a bit apprehensive about the dynamics, especially when it affects the decisions I have to make for the game. I just think that, if we continue with this rate of cards now, by the sixth or seventh round we will have someone suspended. I believe that is not what we deserve," he stated, after explaining the substitutions of yellow-carded players.

"Classic? I was thinking about finishing the game with eleven players. It's strange to have players with yellow cards when I have a 3-0 result at halftime. Therefore, I have to act in a way to protect the players because some fouls can lead to something more," said the Italian coach in the flash interview, distancing himself for now from the focus on the game at Alvalade.

Furthermore, Francesco Farioli has already turned his attention to the most media-covered duel of the fourth round of the I Liga, acknowledging that, despite the promising start, there are aspects to improve in his team.

"We have six days to prepare ourselves to go to Sporting's home, the reigning champion. For us, it will be a good test to understand where we are and, of course, to continue growing. The Classics are always special but the approach has to be the same. The emblem on the shirts doesn't change in terms of the attitude we must have. We respect everyone. We want to be at the top," he stressed.

"We aim to stay longer in the game. In the second half, I think we lost a bit of structure and then a kind of domino effect occurred. There are definitely things to improve. The way we play is demanding from a physical and mental point of view. There are many decisions to make. The players are very exposed to duels and contacts, so we have to make decisions under pressure. Overall, I am very satisfied with the team and what the players are doing, on game day, but especially during the week," he added.

"I always put the team above everything and any player. I am tolerant with technical faults, but my red line comes very quickly with the lack of spirit and mentality with what we do on the field. I demand a lot from the players, however, sometimes, one or two players below the maximum can make everything crumble. Anyway, so far, I am really very happy to see everyone around me going to the limit. That's what we need to continue doing," he concluded.

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