Midfielder Jorginho harshly criticized referee Anderson Daronco‘s performance following his red card and Santos‘ comeback in the 2–2 draw against Flamengo.
Tempers flared at Vila Belmiro following the 2–2 draw between Flamengo and Santos in a Brazilian Serie A match. The primary focus of the Rubro-Negro’s dissatisfaction was the performance of referee Anderson Daronco.
Sparking Santos’ comeback, controversial refereeing decisions altered the course of the match, in which the visiting club had held a two-goal lead. Frustration took over the visiting delegation.
Midfielder Jorginho spoke at the post-match press conference and did not hold back in criticizing the criteria adopted by the referee throughout the game.
Refereeing controversies and frustration on the pitch
During the second half, a scramble in the visiting defense sparked outrage. After receiving a difficult pass from goalkeeper Rossi, Jorginho was pressured by forward Rony and went down to the turf.
Initially, the referee whistled for a foul outside the box for a handball. However, after a long check and a VAR monitor review, the call was changed to a penalty kick.
To make matters even worse for the away side, Jorginho received a straight red card, leaving his team short-handed at a decisive moment in the match.
The player vented about the referee’s handling of the match and disapproved of the official’s shifting attitude as the game progressed:
I’m going to keep it simple and direct. The game starts, and he doesn’t enforce the five-second rule on goal kicks. Everything is fine. The second half starts, and the count begins. That alone says a lot about the officiating.
The player also lamented the final decision on the pivotal play that sparked the home side’s comeback, emphasizing that the referee had the chance to review the play on the video monitor.
On the penalty play, he still managed to create the worst possible scenario. He managed to go to the VAR to look at it and had the opportunity to reverse the call.
Outcome at Vila Belmiro and top spot maintained
Capitalizing on the penalty kick, forward Neymar converted the goal and later scored again from the spot, sealing the 2–2 draw.
The scoreline turnaround and the referee’s decisions left the players and head coach Leonardo Jardim deeply indignant at the final whistle in the coastal city of Santos.
Despite the stumble away from home, Flamengo remains firmly in sole possession of first place in the Brazilian Serie A with 61 points, maintaining a razor-thin one-point lead over second-place Palmeiras.
The squad is trying to turn the page quickly, as their next fixture will be the derby against Fluminense this Sunday (11) at 5:30 PM at the Maracanã Stadium.
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