There was drama aplenty in the Brazilian Serie A as officials from Corinthians, led by Dirctor of Football Allesandro Nunes, attempted to storm the VAR room at Arena do Grêmio in Porto Alegre.
An ill-tempered affair between Gremio and Corinthians saw Bruno Mendez of Corinthians and Bruno Alves of Gremio handed red cards. However, the big talking point of the match came just six minutes into the game.
After being played into the box Corinthians left-back Matheus Bidu appears to go down under a clumsy challenge from João Pedro. The referee waved play on while VAR reviewed the tackle. Take a look at the incident below.
Grêmio x Corinthians - Brasileirão 2023
— Erros contra o Corinthians (@erroscontra) November 12, 2023
Árbitro: Rodrigo José Pereira de Lima
VAR: Rafael Traci
PÊNALTI NÃO MARCADO de João Pedro em Bidu. Lateral do Corinthians sai na cara do gol, é atropelado e o VAR NÃO CHAMOU para revisão. E ainda era para amarelo. pic.twitter.com/Z173tVh2XN
“He (João Pedro) puts his arms on his (Matheus Bidu) body, he even has contact with the player’s leg, but that doesn’t make him fall, this contact doesn’t make the player fall,” – was the word from Rafael Traci, VAR for the game to the on-field referee Rodrigo José Pereira de Lima.
It all kicked off at half-time, however, as Corinthians’ Director of Football along with several other people attempted to force their way into the VAR room in ugly scenes. Nunes can be seen rushing past security toward the VAR room before approaching the person recording the video at 12 seconds before another person attempts to slap the phone out of the cameraperson’s hands.
Mais um cena patética do futebol brasileiro, na Arena do @Gremio o ex jogador Alexandro hoje dirigente do @Corinthians queria " derrubar" a porta do pessoal do VAR.
— Lucas Uchoa (@LucasUchoa85) November 12, 2023
Além disso a imprensa sendo impedida de trabalhar, e mostrar para o mundo a incompetência dessas pessoas. pic.twitter.com/cepYp9srkG
It was very much a case of much ado about nothing though as Corinthians would eventually go on to win the game 1-0, courtesy of a 32nd-minute goal from Brune Mendez. They’re up to 11th on the standings while title-chasing Gremio are now three points behind Palmeiras who lead the way after 34 games.
