Redknapp accuses 'diving' Braga
Braga 3 Portsmouth
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp pointed an accusatory finger at Sporting Braga's "divers" after the Portuguese side claimed a 3-0 Uefa Cup win over Portsmouth. Pompey had four players booked and Redknapp admitted he was frustrated by the night's proceedings – especially with what he perceived as the antics of the opposition and the officials' response. He said: "I got frustrated with the whole game. From the start I thought the referee had no idea whatsoever. It's frightening, they were diving all over the place and nearly every decision seemed to be a booking."
Slovenian referee Darko Ceferin booked Pompey's Papa Bouba Diop, Noe Pamarot, Jermain Defoe – for shooting into the net when given offside – and Peter Crouch. He also booked Braga goalscorer Wason Renteria for trying to persuade the official to caution Pompey substitute Nadir Belhadj for a foul. But Braga coach Jorge Jesus said: "Our players only went down because of the Portsmouth players' fouls. We thought the referee did a good job."
Redknapp added: "A few weeks ago we had a great Turkish referee in Guimaraes near here and it was a good game. This time I thought it was very poor. They [Braga] played well and deserved to win the game but some of the things they were doing were not right. It doesn't happen in our game in England.
"Where is the referee from? Slovenia? I'm sure they have a big league there and plenty of top matches. But we didn't pass the ball well and never got going. Our final ball was poor, although I thought we had a perfectly good goal disallowed. At 2-1 it could still have changed the game but I don't know why it was disallowed after seeing it again.
"We missed Glen Johnson who has a pelvic injury and Lassana Diarra who has a bad knee. We never looked at our best.
"But we are still in with a chance of qualifying for the next round. We've got two big home games in the group, one against AC Milan, and there's still all to play for."
Uruguayan Luis Aguiar fired a fabulous 30-yard free-kick past David James in the eighth minute and Colombian Renteria added a second just after half-time.
Portsmouth conceded a third three minutes from time when Sean Davis steered a right-wing cross against his own post and Brazilian Alan pounced to score from the rebound.
Braga (4-4-2): Eduardo; Frechaut, Moises, Alberto Rodriguez, Evaldo; Vandinho (Paulo Cesar, 86), Alan, Matheus (Cesar Peixoto, 63), Aguiar; Renteria (Stelvio Cruz, 83), Meyong. Substitutes not used: Mario Felgueiras (gk), Mossoro, Jorginho, Joao Pereira.
Portsmouth (4-4-2): James; Pamarot, Campbell, Distin, Hreidarsson (Belhadj, h-t); Little, Diop, Armand Traoré (Kanu, 62), Davis; Defoe, Crouch. Substitutes not used: Ashdown (gk), Utaka, Mvuemba, Hughes, Wilson.
Referee: D Ceferin (Slovenia).
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments