The club coach Vasco da Gama from Rio de Janeiro, the Argentine Ramon Diaz, This Wednesday he questioned the presence of a “woman” in charge of video refereeing, a statement that generated controversy in Brazil. “Football is different, and the fact that the VAR is decided by a woman seems quite complicated to me,” said the 64-year-old coach during a press conference in Bragança after his team’s 2-1 defeat against Bragantino in the Brazilian championship.
Criticizing Brazilian officiating as a whole, Diaz questioned VAR referee Daiane Muniz’s decision not to award a possible penalty to Vasco in Vasco’s previous match, beating Gremio Porto Alegre 2-1, on Sunday in Rio.
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Díaz apologized to journalists minutes later and said that his statement, considered “sexist” by several local media and on social networks, had been misinterpreted. “What he wanted to say is that a single person cannot decide, make a decision as important (…) as the intervention of the VAR,” he tried to explain outside the Nabi Abi Chedid stadium.
On social media, Vasco da Gama regretted his coach’s comments and reaffirmed “his commitment to reinforcing the necessary educational measures in accordance with his determinations, values and principles.” “We apologize, as does our coach,” he wrote.
