Many things changed after the São Paulo game, and it's very visible.
In the aftermath of a 3-2 defeat to Grêmio, Palmeiras coach Abel Ferreira turned his gaze not toward the scoreboard but toward the invisible architecture of the game itself — the referee's whistle, and what it reveals about power, consistency, and the unspoken rules that govern competition. Speaking in Porto Alegre, the Portuguese coach drew a quiet but pointed line between what he witnessed in the national league and what he believes football's standards ought to be, suggesting that a single controversial match against São Paulo had altered the course of an entire season. With a Libertadores final against Flamengo waiting in Lima, Ferreira's frustration was real, but his attention had already moved forward.
- Palmeiras fell 3-2 to Grêmio on a night when Flamengo's draw brought the national title within a single win of their rivals — the stakes could not have been higher.
- Abel Ferreira's sharpest words were not about tactics or fatigue, but about two penalties awarded without hesitation in a game where, weeks earlier, a crucial penalty had been denied against São Paulo.
- The coach drew a deliberate contrast between Brasileirão governance and Conmebol's control of the Libertadores, framing them as competitions that operate by different moral logics.
- Ferreira refused to entertain hypotheticals about squad rotation, yet returned repeatedly to the São Paulo match — a ghost decision he believes redirected the entire trajectory of Palmeiras' season.
- With the delegation departing for Peru on Wednesday, the Libertadores final against Flamengo on Saturday in Lima now absorbs everything — the loss, the grievances, and the ambition.
Abel Ferreira left Porto Alegre on Tuesday night carrying more than a defeat. Palmeiras had fallen 3-2 to Grêmio in the 35th round of the Brasileirão, and the same evening, Flamengo's draw against Atlético-MG left the national title tantalizingly close for their rivals. But what Ferreira chose to address in the postgame press conference was something less visible than the scoreline — the pattern he believed had emerged in Brazilian football refereeing.
The Portuguese coach was careful to separate two worlds: the Brasileirão, governed by its own body, and the Libertadores, controlled entirely by Conmebol. Different competitions, different standards. Within that distinction, however, he made a pointed observation — something had changed in how referees were officiating the national league since the controversy surrounding Palmeiras' earlier match against São Paulo. In that game, Palmeiras had overturned a 2-0 deficit to lead 3-2, but a penalty Ferreira believed should have been awarded was not. Against Grêmio, the referee marked two penalties without hesitation. The contrast, Ferreira said, was "very visible."
When asked whether rotating eleven players ahead of the Libertadores final had cost Palmeiras the match, Ferreira dismissed the premise. He did not deal in hypotheticals — yet he returned, almost compulsively, to the São Paulo penalty. Had it been given, he reasoned, his goalkeeper would have saved it, Palmeiras would have won, and the season would look entirely different. It was a conditional spoken with the weight of a conviction.
But Lima was already on his mind. Palmeiras face Flamengo in the Libertadores final on Saturday — a stage the club has reached before, and one Ferreira spoke of with quiet pride. The delegation was set to fly to Peru on Wednesday morning. The referee controversies, the Grêmio defeat, the title slipping further from reach — all of it would have to wait. There was a final to win.
Abel Ferreira walked out of the Grêmio stadium in Porto Alegre on Tuesday evening with a loss that stung for reasons beyond the scoreline. Palmeiras had fallen 3-2 to their hosts in the 35th round of the Brazilian championship, a defeat made sharper by the knowledge that Flamengo, drawing 1-1 with Atlético-MG the same night, now stood one victory away from the national title. But what consumed Ferreira's attention in the postgame press conference was not the result itself—it was the refereeing decisions that shaped it, and what he saw as a pattern of change in how the sport was being officiated.
The Portuguese coach drew a deliberate distinction between two worlds of Brazilian football. The Brasileirão, he explained, operated under one set of rules and one governing body. The Libertadores, by contrast, belonged entirely to Conmebol, which controlled every decision from start to finish. They were, in his view, fundamentally different competitions with fundamentally different standards. Yet within that framework, Ferreira made a pointed observation: something had shifted in how referees were calling the national league after the controversy surrounding Palmeiras' earlier match against São Paulo.
That São Paulo game had been consequential. Palmeiras had trailed 2-0, then fought back to lead 3-2—a reversal that hinged partly on a penalty decision that Ferreira believed should have been awarded but was not. Now, in the loss to Grêmio, he noted with visible frustration that the referee had shown no hesitation in awarding two penalties. The contrast was not subtle. "Many things changed after the São Paulo game," Ferreira said, "and it's very visible." He was not making an accusation so much as stating an observation about the direction the competition had taken.
When pressed on whether the result might have been different had he fielded his full squad instead of rotating eleven players ahead of a more pressing fixture, Ferreira rejected the premise outright. He did not traffic in hypotheticals. But he could not resist circling back to the São Paulo match, to the penalty that was not called, to the cascade of consequences that followed. Had that decision gone the other way, he reasoned, his goalkeeper would have made the save, Palmeiras would have won 3-2, and none of what had transpired since would have happened. The conditional was there, but he spoke it almost as a statement of fact—a road not taken that had reshaped everything.
Yet Ferreira's mind was already elsewhere. Palmeiras faced Flamengo in the Libertadores final on Saturday in Lima, Peru—a match that represented the culmination of the season and the kind of stage every player dreams of. The club had reached three finals in recent years, and this was another opportunity to claim a title. Ferreira spoke of arriving with full merit, of having earned the right to compete for the trophy. The delegation would depart for Peru on Wednesday morning, traveling directly from Porto Alegre.
The loss to Grêmio, the frustration with the referees, the observations about how the game was being called—all of it receded in importance against what was coming. Ferreira had made his point about the state of Brazilian football refereeing. Now he had a final to win.
Citas Notables
Many things changed after the São Paulo game and it is very visible. Today the referee had no doubts marking the two penalties.— Abel Ferreira
We arrived with full merit. It is a match all players dream of playing. We will do everything to win it.— Abel Ferreira, on the Libertadores final
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
You mentioned the São Paulo match several times. What exactly happened there that changed how referees are calling games now?
There was a penalty that should have been marked but wasn't. Palmeiras was down 2-0, came back to lead 3-2, and that decision—or rather, the failure to make it—became the hinge point. After that controversy, something shifted in how the competition was being managed.
So you're saying the referees are now overcorrecting? Being too quick to call penalties?
Not overcorrecting exactly. It's more that the standard became visible. In the Grêmio match, the referee had no hesitation marking two penalties. The contrast between that and what happened against São Paulo was stark enough that everyone could see it.
But you're heading into the Libertadores final. Does that frustration carry over, or is it compartmentalized?
The Libertadores is Conmebol's competition. It operates under different governance, different standards. That's actually a point of confidence. The rules are clearer there, the administration is more consistent. The Brazilian league is its own animal.
Do you think the São Paulo controversy will affect how you approach Saturday's match?
No. What happened in the Brasileirão stays in the Brasileirão. We earned our place in this final on merit. That's what matters now.
What do you tell your players about all this?
That we control what we can control. We prepare, we execute, we compete. The rest—the decisions, the controversies, the politics—that's noise. We focus on the pitch.