João Martins, assistant coach to Abel Ferreira at Palmeiras, joined the chorus of criticism targeting the officiating in the 1-1 draw against Remo on Sunday night at Mangueirão, a match that marked the 15th round of the Brasileirão. The assistant specifically called out the VAR for disallowing a last-gasp goal by Palmeiras defender Bruno Fuchs deep into stoppage time.
“After the red card, the only thing missing was the final touch. Mauricio’s control wasn’t there, Lucas Evangelista couldn’t finish cleanly, and the VAR failed to be competent or follow the rules. If it had followed the rules, everything would have been fine. But that’s it, we move on. These are not our concerns,” Martins said during a post-match press conference.
The match’s kickoff time in Belém also drew sharp criticism. The game was scheduled for 4:00 PM (Brasília time) but was delayed by 1 hour and 38 minutes due to heavy rain that flooded the pitch at Mangueirão. Martins argued that the timing was predictable and could have been avoided.
“We have routines. Everything is well-planned, with set times, and when things like this happen, we have to adapt—no excuses. But these are different situations. We were warned yesterday: anyone who schedules a game at 4 PM in the afternoon is asking for this to happen,” he added.
“Back in Portugal, for example, there’s a stadium on Madeira Island, and at 6 PM, fog always sets in. They stopped scheduling games at that hour because they were constantly delayed. When we arrived today, the same thing was said. We checked the weather forecast, and it rains every day. Whoever made this schedule was asking for trouble. But no excuses—of course we don’t like it because we like to have everything very organized. We are very methodical in our work.”
Martins also analyzed the overall match, noting that Remo’s goal came from two lost duels and that the team’s heavy legs from the previous game and the soggy pitch made it harder to perform.
“Remo’s goal came from two duels we lost. We didn’t recover well from the previous match. Our center-back didn’t recover. The delay wasn’t the reason, but the field was heavy, hard, tough to play on. Running took a lot of effort, and we paid a higher price for our decisions in the final third when we weren’t at 100%. We lacked that calmness we usually have, and that’s how it is.”
The disallowed goal came in the 49th minute when Bruno Fuchs headed the ball into the net, but after a VAR review, the referee ruled that Flaco López had handled the ball in the buildup.
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