Brazil Falls to Morocco 2-1 in Friendly, Questions Referee Decisions

Brazil hoped to confirm its superiority over Morocco, who finished 4th in the last World Cup in Qatar. But instead of a victory that the Seleção was expecting, it was the Atlas Lions who confirmed that their run in Qatar was not due to chance. For the Brazilians, the one responsible for this failed comeback is nothing other than the refereeing. This is what interim coach Ramon Menezes explained at the post-match press conference. "We had a bit of trouble at the start of the game, it was predictable. We thought, especially in the first half, to strengthen the defensive system a little more, especially on the sides, because Morocco is very strong on the sides, especially on the right. [...] I’m not the kind to talk about refereeing, but everyone saw it..."

Same discourse from Casemiro, who was harassed in his lane by Azzedine Ounahi. He believes that the main referee whistled too many fouls against Brazil. He also complained about a goal from Vinicius Jr. disallowed for offside in the first half. "We should have won, but I think the game plan was good. The biggest difficulty, with all due respect to him, was for me the refereeing," he assured.

Rodrygo was also critical of the refereeing, but acknowledges that Morocco has a strong and great team. "I don’t like to talk about the referee, but it was a bit complicated, he didn’t want to let the game flow. We were pressing and he was always whistling a foul when we were pressing. That made things a bit complicated. But I’m not going to make excuses. It’s a very strong team, which behaved very well in the World Cup," the striker told the press.

After their victory over the Seleção, the Atlas Lions already have their sights set on their next match scheduled for March 28 in Madrid against the Peruvian national team.