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Referee Ricardo Marques Ribeiro prays in front of the VAR replay screen before São Paulo vs Flamengo
(Image: Twitter/globoesportecom)

VIDEO: Referee prays in front of VAR replay screen and blesses it before São Paulo vs Flamengo

Intentional or incidental?

Referee Ricardo Marques Ribeiro prayed in front of the VAR replay screen and blessed it before São Paulo vs Flamengo in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.

The historic Brazilian clubs played out a relatively uneventful 1-1 draw at the Cícero Pompeu de Toledo Stadium on Sunday.

O árbitro Ricardo Marques Ribeiro fez uma oração diante do terminal do VAR antes de São Paulo x Flamengo https://t.co/iUcXibAJbs pic.twitter.com/74lYByosWI

— ge (@globoesportecom) May 5, 2019

So if Ribeiro was concerned about any video technology related controversy coming to the fore, he appears to have emerged unscathed.

Of course it’s entirely possible that he was just praying and happened to be standing in front of the pitchside monitor.

In the match, Orlando Berrío gave visitors Flamengo an early lead, with Danilo Neves scoring a late equaliser for the home team.