The narratives diverge. Galo relies on the idea that he was harmed against Flamengo in the past and tries to prevent it from happening again. The club’s president, Sérgio Coelho, called for “fair play”, saying that in the past there had been “dirty games”. In addition to the matches in 1980 and 1981, Atlético also highlighted the duel in 2022 for the round of 16 of the Copa do Brasil.
Flamengo officials directly refuted these complaints. The club says it is concerned about these narratives because it understands that the referees are already under pressure at the game. This was also said against Corinthians after the first game. Marcos Braz defined the statement as “idle talk” and Landim said that the miners wanted to play the victim.
Fla raised its tone against recent mistakes. The club made, at the direction of the board, two videos lasting just over 20 minutes listing and commenting on referee problems in several of the team’s games. The most recent one talked about the episodes in the semi-final of the Copa do Brasil. Internally, the red and black team believes that their rivals are trying to benefit in some way by putting pressure on them before the games take place.
Important figures went to the microphone to complain. Managers constantly give interviews or appear to criticize refereeing decisions and even coach Filipe Luís spoke out. The club understands that it is being harmed repeatedly.
Flamengo and Atlético-MG play the first game of the Copa do Brasil final this Sunday, at 4pm (Brasília time). The return will be on the other Sunday, the 10th, at the same time, at Arena MRV.
