FLAMENGO CLOSE TO RENEWING CONTRACT WITH IGOR JESUS

After the 4-2 victory over Atlético-MG, at Arena MRV, in Belo Horizonte, in the 14th round of the Brazilian Championship, Flamengo's football manager, Luiz Carlos Azevedo, made a statement this Wednesday ( 3), criticizing the performance of the arbitration. The director highlighted two moves involving the video referee (VAR), which, according to him, harmed Flamengo.

Azevedo mentioned a penalty in favor of Atlético, scored with the help of VAR, and another move that he claims to have been ignored by the arbitration. In the first case, Hulk scored Atlético's goal with a penalty when Flamengo was already winning 3-0. In the second case, a possible penalty in the 41st minute of the second half was not signaled.

"I come here today, again, in order to be able, after a victory, a great victory for the team, against a great opponent, to understand the VAR criteria again. The arbitration committee has received our board, there is dialogue, but again in our understanding Flamengo. was harmed", said Azevedo.

About the penalty awarded for Atlético, Azevedo declared: "If it was Allan's penalty, which in our understanding it wasn't. Our athlete touches the ball first, in a continuous act of movement he has contact with the athlete from the opposing team, the field referee doesn't mark it, and simply the VAR calls to be able to award the penalty". Ramon Abatti Abel (Fifa-SC) was the referee of the match.

THE The director also questioned the failure to award a penalty in favor of Flamengo. In the 41st minute of the second half, Atletico midfielder Otávio allegedly tackled Erick Pulgar, from Flamengo. "I wanted to understand what VAR's criteria were in not awarding the penalty against Erick. There is no contact from the opposing team's athlete on the ball, our athlete is tripped, falls, and VAR simply doesn't call it", added Azevedo.

The Flamengo beat Atlético-Mg in the MRV Arena and isolated themselves at the top of the Brasileirão with 30 points. The duel against the Mineiros also ended up marking a new beginning for one of Rio's red-black players. That's because striker Carlinhos started the match and scored his first goal with the sacred mantle. In an interview, the player spoke about the moment, the goal and the mourning due to the recent death of his mother.

"(I would say) he is a winner. I'm a guy who never gave up. I lost my mother a few years ago. 15 days, I'm still grieving. It's been difficult, but I have to continue. As I always think, she dressed me in her armor. When she saw that I was ready, she left. me to say this. I know that she is in the arms of the Lord, and that is what comforts me. I want to tell (to Carlinhos at the beginning of the year) that I arrived here due to God's merit and my work", said Carlinhos, at half-time.

Carlinhos made his debut in the first round of the Brasileirão, against Atlético-GO, and then again had the opportunity as a starter against Palmeiras. The striker spent just 45 minutes on the field at Allianz. Carlinhos only played again against Juventude, but only spent four minutes on the field.

The chance to start against Atlético-MG came due to the physical exhaustion of Pedro, who is going through a sequence of games. Carlinhos scored the goal in the 24th minute after a play by Luiz Araújo and Wesley. The full-back shot, but the ball hit the post, and the number 22, well positioned, put it into the back of the net.

This Wednesday (3), Cuiabá fought until the end, but ended up defeated by Botafogo, 2-1, in the Arena Pantanal, in a game valid for the 14th round of the Brazilian Championship. In addition to losing their streak of five unbeaten games, Cuiabá already knows that they will have two absences for the next game, against Flamengo.

Cuiabá entered the field with four players suspended, and two of them received cards yellow and are suspended from the next round. The team's starting midfielder, Filipe Augusto was warned 11 minutes into the second half, for stepping on the opposing player after losing control of the ball.

Who also doesn't face Flamengo is striker André Luís. Reserve from the Mato Grosso team, the player left the bench in the 19th minute of the second half, replacing Clayson, and in the final stretch of the match, in the 40th minute, he received a yellow card after a foul on full-back Cuiabano.

Flamengo x Cuiabá

Flamengo and Cuiabá face each other next Saturday, July 6th, in a game valid for the 15th round of the Brazilian Championship. The match will be played at Maracanã, and the ball starts at 8pm (Brasília time). Initially, the match was scheduled for 9pm (Brasília time), but the CBF confirmed the change in time due to Brazil's game in the Copa América.