Hjulmand sent off for reckless challenge in Sporting v Club Brugge | OneFootball

Pedro Henriques gave his usual analysis of the incidents during the match between Sporting and Club Brugge, which the Lions won 3-0. In his opinion piece for the newspaper A Bola, the refereeing expert did not avoid focusing on the incident where Tobias Stieler wanted to send off Morten Hjulmand, right at the final stage of the match, a decision that was later overturned by VAR.

"9. The referee showed a straight red card to Morten Hjulmand for believing that the midfielder had gone in studs up to the body/arm of Stankovic, but with the replays it became clear that he had made a mistake in his decision. That’s when, rightly so, VAR intervened to overturn the initial decision, as the Dane lifted his right leg and touched the ball first with his foot, then pulled his leg back and hit the opponent’s arm with his shin. In conclusion, there was no violent conduct, but rather a reckless challenge, which is why the red card was downgraded to a yellow. Excellent intervention by the video assistant referee," he began by saying.

Furthermore, the former Portuguese referee addressed two incidents involving the same players: Christos Tzolis and Iván Fresneda, with the Belgian team requesting a penalty in both cases, something Pedro Henriques ‘dismisses’: "29. Christos Tzolis complained about being touched on his left foot, inside Sporting’s penalty area, in a challenge with Iván Fresneda. There is no clear replay showing a possible stamp, it seems more like a slight contact, a glancing and inconsequential touch while running. It’s important to remember that VAR had access to all the replays and angles it wanted, and if the decision not to award a penalty was upheld, it’s because there really was no foul."

"50. After a cross from Tzolis, the ball hit the left elbow of Iván Fresneda, who had his hands behind his back, with his arm close to and along his body, and without making himself bigger. Correct decision not to award a penalty kick," it reads.

With this victory – the 15th in 20 matches this season – the team led by Rui Borges now have 10 points in the competition and are in eighth place. The next match in the international competition is scheduled for Tuesday, December 9, at 5:45 p.m., against Bayern Munich, in Germany.

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