Paulo Freitas questions refs: “Odd to ignore VAR calls three times” | OneFootball

Paulo Freitas has been going through a difficult period since, at the start of the season, he took over FC Porto after leading Portugal to victory in the European Championship.

This Sunday, the Dragons lost the Continental Cup to Óquei de Barcelos. In his assessment of the match, he congratulates the opponent but also voices criticism of the refereeing.

“I congratulate Óquei de Barcelos. The first half was very solid and controlled. There were two lapses in concentration that cannot happen. One right after the 1-0. We knew it was important to be in front, to take patience away from Óquei de Barcelos. It would open up space for us to finish. We immediately conceded the equalizer. The team felt that setback too much. We cannot concede the second goal in transition. The result [at halftime] was unfair considering what we produced in the first half.

We conceded another goal in transition [in the second half]. The team stabilized and got back into the game. Then, we exposed ourselves in the final moments. We know that goal [the 4-2] sealed the game. We worked until the end. We leave here frustrated and sad. We want to win titles. We made mistakes, but to err is human. We want to correct and evolve. On Wednesday, we return to the national championship [with a visit to Benfica] and we want to honor the club’s shirt.

This team has a lot of individual quality. It is used to winning. We have to manage certain moments of the game better. Sometimes, it seems like a slightly anxious team, because it is ‘hungry’ to win and wants to deliver titles to the fans. The team was labeled as defending poorly, but the team did not defend poorly in four against four. It made some mistakes.

I did not like the refereeing. Leaving the best referees in the video assistant role and letting some referees who make mistakes in certain environments stay on the pitch is strange. It’s even stranger when the referees are called to go to VAR three times and don’t go.”

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