Arleu returns: São Paulo v Inter with ref who’s wronged Tricolor | OneFootball

Even with only two more rounds remaining for the end of the Brasileirão, refereeing continues to be the center of attention before the matches, as it will be in São Paulo vs. Internacional, this coming Wednesday (3), at 8 PM (Brasília time).

The CBF announced in a public hearing held at its headquarters in Rio de Janeiro (RJ) that the referee from Rio, Bruno Arleu de Araújo, will officiate the Tricolor's match this midweek, which will take place at Vila Belmiro, in Santos.

As is customarily informed by the CBF, the selection of referees is determined by considering the stages of the competition, the importance and complexity of each match, and the qualification, physical conditioning, and technical performance of the referees.

THE CONTROVERSIES

Arleu has already caused immense outrage among the Tricolor's directors due to his performance in the derby against Corinthians, in the 2023 Brasileirão. On that occasion, São Paulo complained about a penalty awarded in favor of Corinthians, in an incident involving the full-back Rafinha, and the annulment of a goal scored by Jonathan Calleri in which the referee saw a foul by the Argentine.

The unfavorable incidents for São Paulo generated huge protests from the club, including offenses reported in the match report by the director and president of São Paulo. The CBF did nothing, as usual, and considered Bruno Arleu's decisions in the Majestic to be correct.

Already in the 2025 season, Bruno Arleu de Araújo was temporarily suspended by the CBF after an error favoring Palmeiras. In the game for the 2nd round of the Brasileirão, between Sport vs. Palmeiras, the referee saw a touch by Matheus Alexandre in a ball dispute with Rafael Veiga and awarded a penalty, converted by Piquerez, in a 2-1 victory for Palmeiras.

“Unfortunately, there are moments to instruct, restrain, and also to suspend. At this moment, the Refereeing Commission suspends for instruction the teams of the matches where, in the CCEI's view, there were mistakes,” said Rodrigo Cintra, general coordinator of the CBF's refereeing commission at the time.

“The suspension is not simply an empty punishment; it is so that we can take care of the referees, instruct them, and ensure that, subsequently, there are no more mistakes of this nature, aligning the VAR and the field referee,” concluded Cintra.

We hope the instructions have worked. To assist Arleu, the assistants Rodrigo Figueiredo Henrique Corrêa (RJ) and Felipe Alan Costa de Oliveira (MG) will be on the sidelines, with André Luiz Skettino Policarpo Bento (MG) as the fourth referee. The VAR booth will be commanded by the Goianian Caio Max Vieira.

In this Brasileirão, Bruno Arleu has officiated three matches of the Tricolor, all as the home team. The 2-0 victory over Vitória, as well as the 1-0 defeats to Ceará and Bragantino, the latter match held at Vila Belmiro.

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