Cup 🇵🇹: Sporting go through after 10-minute VAR penalty, Benfica furious

Portuguese football experienced a night of chaos and rivalry this Thursday (18).

This happened because, during Sporting’s 3-2 victory over Santa Clara in the Round of 16 of the Portuguese Cup, Benfica – the Lions’ biggest rival – was outraged by the refereeing of the match.

But don’t worry, OneFootball will explain what happened!

In the Azores, Sporting took the lead with João Simões, but Lucas Soares equalized before halftime.

After the break, near the end of the match, Gabriel Silva put the hosts ahead.

However, in stoppage time, the Lions were awarded a penalty after a 10-minute VAR review. Luis Suárez converted and leveled the score once again.

Watch the play by clicking here!

A key detail is that, before the penalty was awarded, the referee had already sent off Paulo Victor. However, during the VAR “confusion,” Frederico Venancio and Lucas Soares were also shown red cards, leaving Santa Clara with just 8 players on the field.

While the match was still ongoing, Benfica used its official X (formerly Twitter) account to openly criticize the refereeing, calling the situation a “scandalous episode.”

In extra time, Ioannidis scored the winning goal, securing Sporting’s place in the quarterfinals of the Portuguese Cup.

Featured photo: Disclosure/X SportingCP

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.