Brazilian player penalised for dribbling

A Brazilian referee has caused outrage in his country after awarding a free kick against a player for dummying and dribbling.

Referee Leonardo Gaciba Junior was accused of penalising skill and encouraging violent play after the bizarre incident late in Wednesday's Brazilian championship match between Coritiba and Santos.

With Coritiba leading 4-2 and time running out, Coritiba striker Jaba received the ball near the touchline, cheekily lifted his foot over the ball a couple of times as if he was about to set off on a dribble -- only to have a free kick awarded against him.

On Friday, Gaciba told the sports daily Lance that he was trying to protect Jaba by stopping him from provoking the opposition.

"The rule says that a player cannot endanger an opponent or himself," Gaciba was quoted as saying.

"He wasn't being objective so I awarded a free kick to protect him. If somebody had broken his leg, they will say that I was not clamping down on violence."

Former FIFA referee Jose Roberto Wright, who refereed in the 1990 World Cup, led the criticism of the decision.

"What Leonardo Gaciba did was absurd, it can't happen," he said. "What he in fact did was to stamp out the skill of the player and not the violence of the opponents.

"Can you imagine what would have happened if the referee had given a free kick every time Garrincha lifted his foot over the ball? There wouldn't be any football left.

"But at least he (Gaciba) is a young referee, so there's still time to put things right."

Brazilian referees are often accused of failing to show yellow and red cards for bad tackles and allowing violent play to flourish in a championship that has averaged nearly 60 fouls a match, which critics say is one of the highest in the world.

KEEP-UP

Brazilian midfielders and defenders hate being the victims of trickery, such as having the ball flicked through their legs, as they believe it to be a form of humiliation.

Last weekend, a player in a second division match between Sport Recife and Botafogo-Ribeirao Preto, was attacked by opponents after nonchalantly playing keep-up while his team were winning 3-0.

Three years ago, a championship final was abandoned because of a brawl which started when striker Edilson -- who played for Brazil in the World Cup this year -- began playing keep-up.

But an indignant Brazilian media called on their country's traditions of skill and artistry to be preserved.

"I haven't got the patience to watch a game with 189 fouls and with the ball in play for 22 minutes," said Cesar Seabra in Lance.

"There's no fun left in football," added Roberto Assaf in Jornal do Brasil.

"One little flick is enough to make the opponent lose his head. Modern times only allow for grumpiness, a reflection of rigid tactics and players with no imagination."

Fernando Calazans, in O Globo, wrote: "Where on earth have you seen a player be protected by having a free kick awarded against him?

"Mr Gaciba has to allow Jaba to play. His Highness has a duty to protect football, punishing the bully-boys with their perverse sliding tackles, their flying scissors kicks and their repetitive fouling carried out on the orders of bully-boy coaches."