Corinthians striker Memphis Depay was not even named in the squad to face Atlético, but spoke out against the refereeing on social media
The discussion about refereeing continues even the day after the 0-0 draw between Atlético e Corinthians. Striker Memphis Depay, who was not even named in the squad for the match at the MRV Arena in Belo Horizonte on Saturday (25/5), defined the refereeing in Brazil as “disgusting” when highlighting a play in the second half of the match between the black and white clubs. In the final stages of his recovery from a physical problem, Memphis even traveled with the squad, but only watched the goalless draw in the 10th round of the Brazilian Championship. The following day, the Dutchman used Instagram to criticize the refereeing in Brazilian football.
The play mentioned by Memphis took place at the beginning of the second half. At the time, Patrick Silva arrived late and hit Ryan, Corinthians’ midfielder, with the sole of his boot. However, the Galo player did not receive a warning from referee Rafael Rodrigo Klein for the infraction.
Corinthians’ complaint about Atlético’s Lyanco’s play
In addition to Memphis, Fabinho Soldado made a point of complaining about the refereeing. Corinthians’ executive director of football opened the press conference right after the game, still at the MRV Arena, and blasted the referee of the duel for not sending off Lyanco, still in the first half.
“Refereeing… From today on, Corinthians will no longer send any official letter to the CBF because we will be here every round, every time we are being harmed, and today, the refereeing interfered in the game in a normal play, in which the referee was close to Atlético’s defender [Lyanco]. It was a second yellow card and would interfere in the match” – Fabinho Soldado, Corinthians’ director of football
In the 34th minute, Lyanco – who was the last man in the defense – made a mistake and grabbed the shirt of Corinthians’ forward Héctor Hernández. The Spaniard fell and put his hand to his face, asking for a foul and a punishment for the defender, who already had a yellow card for a previous infraction on left-back Matheus Bidu.
Since it was not marked on the field and the VAR can only call the referee for direct expulsions, the decision was upheld, and Lyanco played for 90 minutes. This outraged Fabinho Soldado, who even revealed a conversation with the referee.
“I asked him [referee Rafael Rodrigo Klein] a question: if it were my defender, he deserved the yellow. He didn’t know how to answer me. He deserved it. So it was a play that 100% interfered in the game”
“Every time Corinthians feels wronged, we will come here and express our indignation because thousands of official letters are sent, and we don’t see any improvement. This criticism here is even a constructive criticism so that, in some way, Brazilian refereeing can improve”, concluded Fabinho Soldado.
