Former referees on Sporting v Porto appointment: No surprise | OneFootball

Several former referees commented on the appointment of João Gonçalves to officiate the classic match between Sporting and Porto, scheduled for next Saturday. Jorge Coroado, José Leirós, and Fortunato Azevedo expressed their satisfaction with the choice made by the Portuguese Football Referees Association (APAF).

“João Gonçalves has shown some progress and the Refereeing Council has demonstrated some support. The appointment fits within these facts, we’ll see how he reacts to a challenge for which we hope there won’t be any major issues,” wrote Jorge Coroado for the newspaper O Jogo.

José Leirós shared the opinion of his former colleague: “It’s an excellent appointment, entirely fair and correct. He’s in his sixth season in the Primeira Liga and has delivered excellent performances as a referee. It’s no surprise, this is what the Refereeing Council promised. It was already expected that it wouldn’t be a historic referee, but rather one from the new wave.”

Fortunato Azevedo highlighted João Gonçalves’s performances, considering what he has seen from the referee at the start of this season: “João Gonçalves, a young referee from AF Porto who has had a reasonably positive season, now has this opportunity to seize the spot and show that he has the ability for this and other matches. He will do everything to enrich the spectacle.”

Sporting – Porto - for which Rui Borges has already given his preview - is scheduled for next Saturday at 8:30 pm at Estádio José Alvalade. The match is part of the fourth round of Liga Portugal Betclic and brings together two of the current three leaders of the competition, alongside Moreirense. The match will be refereed by João Gonçalves.

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