The West Zone team used the ‘modus operandi’ of the recent referees’ protest to reverse the roles.
It was almost a protest against the protest. In a Liga Revelação match played this Monday at the Estádio Nacional do Jamor, in Oeiras, between Torreense and Farense, the Oeste team took to the pitch before everyone else.
Contrary to normal football match procedures, the home team (on loan) took to the pitch when the opposing team and the refereeing team had already arrived. Despite the referee’s attempts, the Torres Vedras players didn’t even line up alongside the other two teams in front of the fans before the initial whistle.
A club source stated that this behavior was based on a protest “against the state of the refereeing.” The same source recalled that, this November, Torreense had five players sent off and five penalties awarded against them across four matches between their first team and under-23 team.
The ‘modus operandi’ used by the blue and garnet team was the same as that of the referees’ protest, who in recent weeks have been going onto the pitch before the players as a way of protesting the attacks suffered by the leaders of the ‘big three’ clubs. The aforementioned game belongs to the first phase of the Liga Revelação (Revelation League), Group B. Torreense has already qualified for the championship play-offs.