Porto’s Penalty Drama: Referee’s Phone Call Sparks Chaos in Late Equalizer
FC Porto celebrated an exuberant equalizer at the end of Sunday evening’s Portuguese Primeira Liga match against underdogs FC Arouca, a staggering 23 minutes after the regular playing time had expired.
After 113 minutes of play, the final whistle sounded in Porto, and the chaotic closing stages of the match revolved around referee Miguel Nogueira and the VAR system. So, what happened? Porto struggled against Arouca and found themselves trailing just before what appeared to be the end of the match (84th minute). The reigning vice-champions were on the brink of their first season loss. Then came one of the most spectacular endings of the year.
In the 90th minute, Porto was awarded a penalty. However, the VAR intervened and decided to review the foul.
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Then came the big commotion: Referee Nogueira was summoned to the pitchside monitor but couldn’t see the images due to technical issues. As a result, after a long delay, he was eventually provided with a mobile phone to communicate with the VAR officials. Following the phone conversation, the referee, who hadn’t personally witnessed the foul, decided to overturn the penalty decision. Ten minutes later (in the 106th minute of stoppage time), Porto once again appealed for a penalty, but striker Galeno (25) failed to score against the goalkeeper. In the 109th minute, the madness reached its peak as Evanilson (23) secured a 1-1 draw for Porto in the 119th minute of stoppage time.
After the game, FC Porto released a club statement demanding the annulment of the match. The statement read: “FC Porto has lodged a protest with the League delegates to have the game against Arouca annulled.”
Furthermore, it stated: “The reason for this action is the conduct of the referee, who, after a phone call and without access to video footage, reversed the penalty decision given on the field for a foul on Mehdi Taremi. Miguel Nogueira’s action constitutes a violation of the rules of the game and a legal error with potentially serious consequences for the outcome of the match.”
The extent to which Referee Nogueira’s actions will be officially reviewed remains unclear.
