Benfica president explodes over refereeing decisions: "He cannot referee anymore!"
Benfica president Luis Filipe Vieira did not mince his words when discussing the quality of officiating on show in the clash with bitter rivals FC Porto in the League Cup semi-final.
In a match that was marred with controversy, Vieira expressed his anger at the influence both referee Carlos Xistra and the Video Assistant Referee Fabio Verissimo had on the result, which ended 3-1 to Porto.
He said “We are very concerned. Under this cloud of smoke of those emails [supposed emails that implicate Benfica in corruption], everybody has punished us in the press but so far no tribunal has found us guilty and they are not going to.”
“When we then witness a man with television cameras in front of him that can’t make out offsides and fouls, then that man cannot referee a football match anymore.”
“When with a television in front he still cannot do this and then even has the audacity to tell the referee to disallow our first goal. Curiously, the referee then had the courage to [go against that decision and] allow the goal. All this is very worrying.”
We eagerly await the response of head of Portuguese referees, Fontelas Gomes, to what is becoming something of a scandal in Portuguese football.
