Abel claims clear penalty, slams refereeing as Palmeiras lose to Flamengo | OneFootball

This Sunday, Palmeiras lost 3-2 to Flamengo at Maracanã, in the 29th round of the Brazilian Championship. Coach Abel Ferreira tried to avoid talking about the refereeing but did not refrain from making some criticisms of Wilton Pereira Sampaio.

“I have been expelled by referees for saying what I thought of them over these four years. When I was expelled or received yellow cards, no one talked about the referees. Now will they talk? I talked about the referees a long time ago and they said I was annoying and didn't defend the referees. You were always against me. Now the images are there. You analyze them. That is not my role. My role is to get the team to play, create opportunities, have plays,” he said.

The controversial plays

The Portuguese coach believes the referee made a mistake by not awarding a penalty on Gustavo Gómez early in the match. Additionally, he complained about two fouls not called in favor of the São Paulo team before Bruno Fuchs' penalty on Pedro.

“We could have had, under normal conditions, the first opportunity. It was a clear penalty. Then, there's a foul on Roque that the referee doesn't call and a foul on Fuchs. Pedro takes advantage of Fuchs' fall. Wilton didn't see it that way,” he declared.

“The penalty, it's true that Bruno could have avoided the situation, but we have to see what happened before. Bruno is thrown to the ground. If it were basketball, it would be an offensive foul. But this isn't basketball. It's the referee who decides. In the image I saw, Pedro gives a push and takes advantage. It's a play that is preceded by a foul on Vitor Roque, but it's the referee who decides. Then, yes, there's the touch and it's a penalty,” he added.

Heated finish

Like Gustavo Gómez, Abel also accused Wilton Pereira Sampaio of turning off the microphone to speak with Palmeiras players after the final whistle.

“He is the best Brazilian referee, but things with this referee haven't worked out very well for me. I've been expelled about four or five times. At the end, he turned off the microphone to talk to my players… But anyway, everyone needs to improve. Me, you (journalists), and the referees,” he pointed out.

Proud coach

Finally, the Portuguese coach lamented the defeat and stated that Flamengo doesn't need external factors to win.

“We started very well from the beginning. In 10 minutes, we had four or five consecutive corners, plus the penalty that should have been awarded. Flamengo has a lot of quality, is very well-coached, and doesn't need external factors to play their football,” he said.

“We left sad about the result, but prouder of our behavior, fighting to win. Regarding the rest, Brazil is a country with special football, and Flamengo is an excellent team and doesn't need other things,” he concluded.

Standings situation

With the result, Palmeiras remains in the lead, but now with the same 61 points as Flamengo, which is in second place due to having one less victory. Both clubs have one game less in the competition.

Next Palmeiras match

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