Galo’s CSO, Paulo Bracks, met with the president of the CBF’s Refereeing Committee on Monday to discuss controversial plays.
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) understands that Grêmio‘s first goal in the 2-1 victory over Atlético on Saturday (3/29) was legal. However, the entity admitted that referee Raphael Claus made a mistake in another play in the match played at Arena do Grêmio, in Porto Alegre, for the first round of the Brazilian Championship.
On Monday (3/31), Galo’s Chief Sporting Officer (CSO), Paulo Bracks, met with the president of the CBF’s Refereeing Committee, Rodrigo Cintra, and with the Refereeing Ombudsman’s Office, to discuss the club’s complaints about the game. Atlético mainly addressed two plays. The first occurred at the beginning of the first goal by the Rio Grande do Sul team, in which Lucas Esteves won the ball dispute with Natanael with his foot, which was interpreted as a dangerous play by the black and white team.
The CBF, however, saw the play as “adjusted” and “complex”, but agreed with the decision made by Claus and Daiane Muniz, responsible for the VAR in the duel. The professional validated the play because there was no contact between the players, according to audio released by the entity itself.
“Atlético claimed that there was a dangerous play at the beginning of the play, a high foot and risk of injury to our defender Natanael, which would invalidate the goal according to the APP protocol. Since there was no VAR check by the referee, the play was considered regular”, pointed out the Minas Gerais club.
Also according to Atlético, the entity assessed that the referee should have given the second yellow card to Grêmio defender Wagner Leonardo, for having fouled forward Hulk, at the beginning of the second half.
After the CBF’s assessments, Galo maintained the understanding that it was technically harmed in both plays. The board promised to maintain dialogue with the entity in search of a “better and more professional Brazilian Championship.”
