The Benfica coach stated this Friday that the second goal against Sporting, in the First Football League, does not change his opinion on video arbitration (VAR), despite having validated the play.
“I’m not going to change my opinion on VAR every week depending on whether we have an advantage or disadvantage,” said Seixal’s Roger Schmidt in the press conference prior to the Portuguese Cup match against Famalicão.
The coach, who had previously spoken out against the introduction of VAR in football, then explained that his opinion “is general” and is based on “five or six years of experience and from different countries.”
“That’s my opinion. I would have preferred that the assistant referee had made the correct decision on the field,” concluded the coach, referring to the second goal in the 2-1 victory over Sporting, in the derby on the eleventh day of the Copa del Rey. championship.
Regarding the match with Famalicão, he said he was “happy that the interruption of the national teams is over” and that the players can return to “focus 100% on Benfica until March”, and revealed that Kokçu, recovered from an injury , will play a few minutes, but recalled that the midfielder “needs a few games to return to 100%.”
On the other hand, asked about the position he idealized for João Neves, who in some of the last games played on the right wing of the midfield, Schmidt recalled that he had to “look for solutions” to “resolve problems in the squad”, but He acknowledged that “looking back, it doesn’t make much sense” to divert the player from his usual position.
“João Neves is one of those players that you can put in any position and he plays well. But, of course, we want to have players in the best positions. Sometimes, that is not possible, as I explained, but it is quite clear that he is more of a midfielder than a full-back,” he assumed.
Benfica receives Famalicão on Saturday, in the fourth round match of the Portuguese Cup, which will begin at 8:45 p.m., at the Estádio da Luz, refereed by Manuel Oliveira (AF Porto).
The ‘reds’, who are coming off a victory against Sporting (2-1) in the I Liga, eliminated Lusitânia dos Açores in the previous round (4-1, away), while Famalicão beat Camacha (5 -0, at home). .
Source: TSF
