Opinion – Renata Mendonça: Scenes of violence show that absurdity is becoming normal in football

The images speak for themselves. When he was correctly expelled from the game in the final of the Pernambuco Championship against Retrô, Jean Carlos went for the referee Deborah Cecília. There is no other way to describe the scene than this.

He doesn’t touch her, but his reaction is completely disproportionate and violent. This without even going into the merits of the absurdity of Jean Carlos contesting the arbitration decision in the bid. The expulsion was for the elbow he gave the Retro player in the face in a bid in the first half.

Jean knew the game was being broadcast on national television. There was no shortage of cameras to capture the moment he raised his elbow and hit his opponent. But the midfielder disagreed with the referee’s interpretation. Until then, it’s his right. No one is obligated to agree with the arbitration decision all the time. But respect is good and, above all, it is necessary.

If Deborah Cecília were a man, Jean Carlos’ attitude would already be unacceptable. Since she is a woman, it is evident, in addition to disrespect, cowardice. The player had to be restrained by those around him (referee assistant, Retrô players and Náutico itself). The next day, he justified:

“The moment Deborah gave me the card, I went up, yes, but in the form of a complaint, as any other outraged player at the beginning of a match, in a championship final, could do”.

Any other outraged player COULD DO? From this sentence, it is clear that Brazilian football normalizes the absurd. No outraged player may attack any referee or referee during or after the game. No matter the circumstances, even if there is an error in the arbitration decision (which was not the case with Jean’s expulsion), nothing justifies the violent, disrespectful and disproportionate reaction that the images showed.

No, Jean Carlos, neither you nor any other player can react this way. Being indignant does not exempt you from showing respect for the authority of the person who whistles the match (in fact, for any human being).

Around here, it’s common to see players complaining at every referee’s whistle during the game. They question the call of the foul, the card, the penalty given or not given… They put their hand behind many times in what would be a “sign of respect” while shouting and shouting at the referee. In Brazilian football, matches stop all the time not only because of the poor quality of the refereeing, but also because the players don’t let the game flow. Everything is a reason to gather the “committee” around the referee and question him.

But this way of questioning is already crossing the limits at times. In October last year, a referee from the second division of the Campeonato Gaúcho was beaten on the field by a player from São Paulo-RS during a match and became unconscious.

This year, the Campeonato Capixaba was also marked by an episode of violence by the coach of Desportiva Ferroviária, Rafael Soriano, who headbutted Marcielly Neto.

Now, another shocking scene in the Campeonato Pernambucano, which only didn’t reach the physical aggression because whoever was close contained the Náutico player immediately. There are three unacceptable episodes of violent and disrespectful reactions to arbitration in three professional competitions in Brazilian football, one in each region of the country (South, Southeast and Northeast) in a period of seven months.

We have already crossed all limits. If players and coaches want a more qualified refereeing – a fair claim, by the way – it is not by reacting like this that they will get it. Respect is the minimum.