Benfica today demanded the immediate suspension of the referees involved in the Portuguese Cup final, considering that “their continuity in functions would be an insult to Portuguese football and their credibility.”
Benfica today demanded the immediate suspension of the referees involved in the Portuguese Cup final, considering that “their continuity in functions would be an insult to Portuguese football and their credibility.”
One day after the Portuguese Football Federation (CD) council (CD) (FPF) announced the punishments related to the meeting, the ‘incarnates’ consider that “it is clear that the sports truth was severely tampered with in the Portuguese Cup final 2024/25”.
“The content of the decision [do acórdão] I unequivocally confirm that the mistakes made by Var Tiago Martins and Avar Vasco Santos and Sérgio Jesus had a direct impact on the outcome of the match and questioned the integrity of the competition, “says Benfica’s statement, who lost the final against Sporting 3-1 in a game that was extended.
Considering that “these errors deprived Benfica of a title that was its merit and strictly sporting performance”, the club of Luz “requires the immediate suspension of the arbitration of all the elements involved in this colossal error of evaluation and judgment.”
“Those who show such incompetence and lack of criterion cannot continue to intervene in professional games. Its continuity in roles would be an insult to Portuguese football and its credibility,” says the document, released on the club’s official page.
Benfica also informs that, with the support of their legal team, “it is already working on other actions in the scope of sports justice, both in national and international territory, to ensure that this case is not without exemplary consequences.”
In conclusion, the Luz Club “requires urgent clarifications and taking responsibilities” in the face of what happened in the Portuguese Cup final, played on May 25, at the National Stadium, and puts questions to various entities that protect the sport.
On Friday, the FPF CD suspended five games the Brazilian left defense Matheus Reis, from two-time national champion Sporting, and also punished his teammates Zeno Gest and Geovany Quenda.
Matheus Reis starred in a very controversial bid with Andrea Belotti, then from Benfica, in which he will have stepped on the head of the Italian on the floor, in the final moments of the regular time of the Portuguese Cup final.
