Iturralde González: Benfica got lucky against Vitória de Guimarães | OneFootball

Iturralde González analyzed some of the main incidents from the 10th round of the Liga Portugal Betclic. The former international referee discussed the expulsion of Fabio Blanco in the match between Vitória de Guimarães and Benfica and says that the "encarnados" ended up benefiting from that play, as he does not see reasons for the red card.

"It's true that Fabio Blanco goes in with his leg very high, with the sole, but it scrapes. There is no contact where you can see that the sole hits the knee, that he goes in with a strong, stretched leg and with all the studs hitting Barreiro's knee. He only goes for the ball and what he does is scrape with the studs. For me, it's a yellow card," he stated to the newspaper Record.

The expert justifies his decision: "There is no excessive use of force or violent conduct. There is no full impact of the studs on the knee. He hits him and leaves the leg. Blanco's leg goes up and down, but at no point does it hit the knee with all the studs. It's a reckless play, very showy and spectacular, but it's not for a red card. The key is that he doesn't hit the knee or thigh with the studs, but scrapes," he explained.

Regarding the Sporting - Alverca (2-0), Iturralde analyzed two incidents in the "leonina" area and says that, in both, there is no reason for a penalty. "At 52', it's a tighter, grayer play, but I don't see a penalty. There is contact, Diomande uses his body and Marezi, when he feels the contact, lets himself fall. He clings to the leg and there isn't even a touch on the leg. It's one of those plays attackers often do, throwing themselves... For it to be a penalty, as I usually say, going to a store, from 1 to 10, you have to buy it for 9 or 10. How much would you buy this penalty for? Not even for 5, so it's not a penalty. It's a play where Marezi wants to get something that isn't there."

Regarding the incident at 90+3, he also sees no reason to call a foul on the "leonina" center-back: "I see a football action. Both are contesting the ball and holding each other. It's true that there is a slight touch from Diomande on Tiago Leite, but I see this as a football situation, not as a blow or a normal foul. It's normal football contact, trying to gain position and both trying to play the ball. For me, there's nothing, it's a ball dispute," he concluded.

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