What happened to Flamengo in Brazil was extraordinary!

He Flamengo came back this Saturday 2-1 at Criciúma in the Brazilian League, with a goal from Pedro and another from ‘Gabigol’ from a penalty called after a rival player interfered with the play with a second ball inside the area. In an unusual game, midfielder Gustavo Barreto blocked a clear incursion into the Everton ‘Cebolinha’ area by kicking the second ball that entered the field against the ball controlled by the former Benfica player.

The referee automatically whistled for the maximum penalty and showed Barreto a yellow card, when the score was 1-1 and the stopwatch showed the 85th minute at the Mané Garrincha stadium in Brasilia. The decision of the referee Maguielson Lima Barbosa caused an angry protest from Criciúma players and a wide debate in the sports press and social networks.

The referee dispensed justice with the manual in his hand, as the regulations state that a direct free kick must be called when a player “throws something in the direction of the ball, against an opponent or against a member of the referee’s team.” However, some commentators argue that the referee should have stopped the game when he saw that the second ball was affecting the proper progress of the game.

VAR did not intervene to review the game and Gabigol converted the penalty that gave the team led by former Brazilian coach Tite three points. Before, Pedro neutralized defender Rodrigo’s initial goal minutes after missing another penalty.

The match marked the return to the powerful Rio team of midfielders Nico de la Cruz and Giorgian de Arrascaeta, absent due to playing in the United States Copa América with the Uruguayan team.

With the three points obtained in this 18th round of the Brazilian Championship, Flamengo remains in the noble zone of the classification by temporarily occupying the second position, behind Botafogo, who still have to play.