Hulk expressed a huge annoyance in the mixed zone of the match between Atletico Mineiro and Sao Paulo, which ended in a goalless draw. The Brazilian striker was particularly annoyed with the referee, Anderson Daronco.
"When the match was over, he said to me: 'Be careful what you say outside'. I said, 'Why? And he replied: 'Because it's not the last game I'll referee you. Is this a threat or not? I don't know. That was the conversation I had with him there," Hulk said.
Around the 50th minute of the match, the two men discussed a previous incident that took place around 39', a possible penalty from centre-back Miranda on the former Porto player that could have been awarded, but which Daronco did not see as such.
At the end of the match, still on the pitch, Hulk and the referee had a tense conversation for more than a minute, under the watchful eye of assistants Rafael da Silva Alves and Lucio Beiersdorf Flor.
Daronco has not commented on his refereeing or those words towards Hulk, while the CBF board has communicated that "refereeing only manifests itself through formal requests from clubs or analysis published on the CBF website once the rounds are over", so there will be no more official testimonies about what happened... at least for the time being.
July 10, 2022