By Melody Gross 
Moncarapachense protested the Portuguese Series D championship match
Sunday's match between Serpa and Moncarapacenense, of the fourth division of the Portuguese championship, was marked by an unusual situation: in the 20th minute, referee Goncalo Pereira (Santarem) asked the home team to wear jackets, to distinguish their equipment. Logos that were similar.
The fact is that the players' numbers were not visible while they were wearing their jackets, which allows the teams to protest the match in accordance with the regulations. From what we know, Moncarapacenense, second in the series, two points behind the leaders V. Setubal, go ahead with this protest at the end of the match, and inform the National Football Federation delegate about it. Serpa won the match 2-1 to consolidate ninth place in the table.
There was no need
register Serpa's coach Mauro Santos, who did not agree with the decision, listened and revealed: “It gave the players peace of mind and the idea that they would assume that it was a matter of training.” For the Alentejo helmsman, “the back of the shirts and shorts were completely different” and therefore “this decision was not necessary.”
While playing at home, it was up to the Alentejo team to change the equipment, but Serpa had already provided the alternative, and for Mauro Santos, “the main thing was still more similar to the opponent.” For the coach, the best solution was to reach an agreement before the match: “If this issue had been raised earlier, Moncarapacenense could have come in as their replacement, who is black, and this could have been avoided.”
In this unusual case, the coach recalls that the rigor was not for everyone: “The team's goalkeeper was wearing black, and therefore he also had to play with a jacket, because the refereeing team was also wearing black.”
Written by Armando Alves and José Lameras