BRAGA manager Carlos Carvalhal has criticized French referee Francois Letexier for kicking out his center-half Vitor Tormenia in the first half of the Europa League quarter-finals with the Ibrox Rangers.
Carvalhal, whose team lost 3-1 after extra time and lost 3-2 overall, described Tormenia’s red card decision for a foul on Kemar Ruuf just before half-time as “ridiculous”.
But the Portuguese coach congratulated the team of Giovanni van Bronckhorst for the victory and insisted that their chances to beat RB Leipzig and reach the final are “50-50”.
“First, congratulations to the Rangers,” he said. “I wish them all the best for the semifinals.
“We saw Rangers against Celtic and Rangers did exactly the same thing tonight as they did in this game. They started well and scored very early. We expected that.
We have to pay tribute to the Rangers. They started well and pressed. Then we were calm. We were a good match, even with 10 people, even with nine men.
“I think the judge was bad. The red card was ridiculous. The same situation was with one of our players in overtime. I believe that the Rangers player should receive the same punishment. I believe we were biased by the referees tonight.
“We moved the match to extra time. The third goal was decisive. If the rules were the same as before, a naked guest would take us to the next round.
“We played against a team with great momentum and we definitely fought with it. At the very end of the match our plan was not to concede a goal and to try to score and we did.
“We have to pay tribute to the Rangers. They did exactly the same against Celtic. They started well and scored an early goal. The big difference between Celtic and ours was that we played with 10 men. I am sad about the result, but I am extremely proud of my players.
Asked about Rangers’ chances of winning the Europa League, Carvalhal said: “The team that plays in the semi-finals has a chance. It will be 50-50 for all teams.
“That leg was 50-50. Rangers dominated here, we dominated last week. All these games at this stage are 50-50 in my opinion. I wish the best to Glasgow Rangers. I really believe it’s 50-50. ”
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