Author: Vishwajit Sawant
Following Fluminense and Internacional’s public complaints about the refereeing in the first leg of the Conmebol Libertadores semi-final, commentator Paulo César Oliveira expressed his agreement with the decisions made by referee Dario Herrera and the VAR team. Oliveira carefully analyzed the controversial moments, focusing especially on the cards received by Samuel Xavier and Gabriel Mercado’s disallowed goal.
One of the controversial incidents involved a possible foul by Enner Valencia on Nino, which ended up resulting in Samuel Xavier’s first yellow card, which ultimately led to his expulsion. While Fernando Diniz, Fluminense’s coach, expressed his concern at a press conference, PC Oliveira agreed with the referee’s decision.
Oliveira explained: “The duel between Enner Valencia and Nino looked like a normal challenge. The two yellow cards issued to Samuel Xavier were justified. In the first case, he didn’t make contact with the ball, only with Valencia’s body, preventing a promising attack. In the second case, the split was reckless. When a player is far from the ball and launches himself in such a way, he is taking the risk. Xavier arrived late and couldn’t make contact with the ball. Consequently, the double yellow card that led to his sending off was the right decision.“
Conmebol later released an analysis of the incident in which Gabriel Mercado’s goal was disallowed due to a handball. Oliveira’s opinion is in line with that of the referees, as he noted: “Regarding Mercado’s goal, the VAR intervened correctly. According to the rule, when the ball touches a player’s hand or arm, even accidentally, before entering the goal, the goal must be disallowed.”
As for the controversial moments involving Germán Cano and Rômulo, in which the Internacional players called for the Fluminense striker to receive a red card, Oliveira believes that the referee’s decision to give a yellow card was the right one. He clarified: “In my opinion, the yellow card was applied appropriately. There was no excessive force or full contact between Cano and Rômulo.”
Finally, the Fluminense players complained about the extra time in the first half. Despite the referee signaling three minutes of extra time, Internacional right-back Hugo Mallo scored in the 49th minute. Oliveira clarified: “According to the rules, the fourth official indicates the minimum additional time to be played in the last minute of each half. The extension of extra time is a specific guideline in CBF competitions. The delay in Samuel Xavier leaving the pitch contributed to the extra time.“
After the controversy surrounding the first leg, the two teams are preparing for a crucial rematch at the Beira-Rio next Wednesday. Fluminense are looking for a win to secure a place in the Libertadores final, while a draw would take the game to penalties. Internacional, on the other hand, want to eliminate the Tricolor from the tournament with any result.