‘F****** corruption!’ – Crystal Palace co-owner rants ‘referees must resign’
Robin Bairner
- 2 Nov 2023 10:20 GMT
- 3 min read
Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor lost it after watching his Botafogo side lose 4-3 to Palmeiras in Brazil’s Serie A, claiming that “corruption” is the reason his side lost.
Botafogo were cruising towards a 3-0 win in the first half of the match, which was a vital top-of-the-table affair that might have put his side six points clear with eight games remaining.
Future Real Madrid player Endrick sparked the comeback with a wonderful solo goal, but the decision to send off Adryelson turned the game in the closing moments. Incredibly, Palmeiras scored three times after the 84th minute, with Murilo Cerqueira’s winner coming in the 99th minute of the match.
Endrick's two goals last night were both sensational 😳😳pic.twitter.com/iHZ5CoYySB
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) November 2, 2023
What did Textor say?
Textor gave a fiery interview after the game to Brazilian television.
“It doesn’t deserve a red card and it changes the course of the match. It’s corruption and it’s theft. The referees must resign tomorrow,” he claimed.
“This championship has become a joke. Nobody deserves this, these players from Palmeiras, they don’t want to win this way. We don’t want to lose this way.
“It’s been five games in a row. This is f***ing corruption. This has to change. The referee has to resign for the good of the game. It has to be over now.
“This is theft. Fine me. You can red card me, it’s my stadium, I’ll still be here.”
Botafogo have taken just one point in their last three games, all of which have been at home, putting their title aspirations under threat.
Meanwhile, Textor is not only fighting fires at Botafogo, with his other sides not in great form either.
While Crystal Palace are 13th in the Premier League table, Lyon are at the foot of Ligue 1 and are in grave danger of relegation.
