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AS Monaco – Benfica: “The referee exaggerated”… Were the Monegasques wronged in this cruel stoppage?

What if AS Monaco's great European campaign had reached its tipping point in the 40th minute of its match on the 5th day against Benfica (2-3) on Wednesday? The Principality club has in any case weakened its place in the Top 8 by conceding its first defeat of the season in the Champions League, after leading 1-0 then 2-1, with an arbitration turnaround which deserves to be dissected at the end of the first period. Eliesse Ben Seghir quickly opened the scoring with a delicious offering from Aleksandr Golovin (1-0, 13th) and ASM should have found themselves in numerical superiority.

Already warned (29th), Benfica's Spanish full-back Alvaro Carreras actually signed a big tackle completely late eleven minutes later on Wilfried Singo in midfield. After leaving an advantage (not profitable for Monaco), the Slovenian referee Rade Obrenovic was inevitably going to return to this fault to give Carreras a second yellow card. That's what we naively believed, including after Radoslaw Majecki's save in front of Kerem Aktürkoglu on the next counter.

“The referee should have remained calm and communicated”

But no, Rade Obrenovic preferred to issue immediate warnings against Denis Zakaria (even though captain) and Thilo Kehrer, who demanded explanations. All while explicitly asking the former Saint-Germain defender to shut it down. Then Wilfried Singo was in turn entitled to a yellow card for protest from the gunfighter de Ljubljana (41e).

“It was very quick in my opinion,” regrets Monaco coach Adi Hütter, “very frustrated” and warned in turn just after the final whistle. There was a lot of emotion at that moment, and three warnings for us in one minute is way too many. The referee exaggerated, he should have remained calm and communicated. But we are also wrong to criticize him. He's the boss on the ground. »

A status that the Slovenian referee assumes in his own way, with a total of six yellow cards distributed to ASM for only 11 faults committed during this C1 meeting which had nothing in common with Portugal – Netherlands 2006. Especially since instead of logically finding themselves at 1-0 at 11 against 10 at the start of the second half, the current runner-up of PSG in Ligue 1 will have to play outnumbered from the start. 58th minute (at 1-1).

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“The refereeing errors weighed heavily”

An overly muscular aerial intervention from Wilfried Singo (unfairly booked in the 41st minute) cost the Ivorian defender and his team dearly. If Soungoutou Magassa kept hope alive (2-1, 67th), Monaco ended up giving in to two golden services from the inevitable Angel Di Maria, concluded by Arthur Cabral (2-2, 84th) and Zeki Amdouni (2 -3, 88th) in a cruel end to the match. After this setback in the competition, synonymous with 8th place with 10 points, the Brazilian full-back of ASM Vanderson rails against Rade Obrenovic's decisions: “With one player less, it's normal that we suffer. The refereeing errors weighed heavily on our defeat.”

Our file on AS Monaco

At the microphone of Canal +, Eliesse Ben Seghir was more measured, undoubtedly aware that his team had already finished three Ligue 1 matches numerically inferior this season: “We are going to have to manage our emotions a little better. Some cards were a little harsh but that’s how it is, you can’t control everything.” And certainly not the strange ravings of a Slovenian referee.

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