Gremio Players Complain About Suffering Year After Year in Away Matches Against Corinthians: Can’t We Have an Experienced Referee?

On July 26, in the highlight match of the 19th round of the Brazilian Serie A, Corinthians drew 2-2 with Gremio. After the game, Gremio’s Reinaldo expressed significant dissatisfaction with the main referee of the match, believing that such a high-stakes game should not be officiated by inexperienced referees.

The visiting Gremio scored in just the second minute of the game. However, in the 25th minute, after a Corinthians player fell in the penalty area, the VAR intervened and awarded a penalty kick. Alberto converted the spot-kick to equalize for Corinthians.

Regarding the penalty decision, Reinaldo expressed his displeasure after the game, stating, “Everyone saw that an inexperienced referee was officiating the match. Last year we were hurt here when our opponents escaped a penalty, which led to us only drawing 4-4 instead of winning.”

Reinaldo believes that the Brazilian Football Confederation should have sent a more experienced referee to officiate this match. “The game between these two teams must be refereed by someone with experience, not someone who has only officiated one or two matches in the Brazilian Serie A. Inexperienced referees always end up changing the course of the game. We scored early on, but the penalty decision changed everything.” The match ended in a 2-2 draw.

An ESPN commentator agreed that Gremio had reason to complain about the refereeing, as there were questionable calls made during the match.