Raphinha calls for 'unacceptable' officiating in Brazil loss to be punished

Raphinha has called for the referee in Brazil's friendly defeat to Japan to be punished after "unacceptable" officiating.

Brazil lost 3-2 to Japan at National Stadium after Tatsuhiro Sakamoto's stoppage-time winner for Hajime Moriyasu's side, avenging their defeat to the Selecao at the World Cup back in the summer.

Japan stormed into a 2-0 lead inside 20 minutes after goals from Takefusa Kubo and Keito Nakamura, but Vinicius Junior scored either side of half-time, with Bruno Guimaraes assisting both goals.

Nevertheless, Sakamoto had the final say in the 91st minute, and though Brazil felt there was a foul on Joao Gomes in the build-up, the goal stood.

Raphinha and Carlo Ancelotti both protested the decision, which saw them receive red cards for dissent.

The Barcelona forward did not hold back in his assessment of referee Jansen Foo Chuan Hui, claiming Brazil were playing against him.

"First of all, I want to take this opportunity to apologise for the sending-off. It's difficult to control," Raphinha told Globo.

"So many mistakes by the referee. I tried to talk to him, but I didn't feel he was open to talking. I believe that he made mistakes at many points in the game. It's unacceptable.

"There was a foul on the first goal; the boy handles the ball, which is understandable under the current rules. There was a penalty on me, and then their third goal. A very clear foul on Joao. He lets it go and, with the help of VAR, awards the goal.

"In my opinion, we played a great game, much better in the second half than in the first, but when you're also playing against the referee, it's difficult. We can't let the refereeing go unpunished."

Brazil had 17 shots, which were worth 1.5 expected goals (xG), while restricting Japan to just 1.2 from eight attempts.

However, Japan created more Opta-defined 'big' chances (three to two) and created all of their chances from open play.

Ancelotti revealed the reason for his red card and explained why he took positives from the results.

"He [the referee] told me that I wasn't managing the bench and that's why he gave me the red card," said Ancelotti.

"Regarding the result, I think we played well for 70 minutes, which is what we wanted to do. For the test we wanted to do, we were a little more exposed at the back because we wanted to press more up front.

"It's about developing those who are already playing. New players who have joined during this period. I said that I'm satisfied with the young players, and in March we'll finalise the group a bit more."