Could Porto-Benfica be postponed? Here’s what the league rules say | OneFootball

The afternoon of this Friday brought news that surprised football fans in Portugal. The Benfica squad, as well as several members of the technical team, were hit by a virus that is affecting the preparation for the trip to FC Porto's stronghold on Sunday, a match that closes the eighth round of the Portuguese championship.

In light of this situation, we consulted the regulations of the League competitions. The document, approved by the clubs at the beginning of each season, provides for the possibility of postponing a game if a team does not have at least 13 players at its disposal, among which, a goalkeeper. Benfica has 72 players registered in the Portugal League. The rule is contained in Article 46-A of the regulation relating to the regime of postponement of games.

If the virus is confirmed, the athletes' inability to compete must be certified by health authorities. For this, the Portugal League resorts to a doctor from the National Health Service (SNS) to attest to the clinical condition of those involved.

"Without prejudice to the regime provided for in the previous article, the postponement of a game must be determined whenever a club does not have, demonstrably, a minimum of 13 players (of which, at least, one is a goalkeeper) fit to play. The inability to play must be certified until the beginning of the game, by the following entities or people: a) Directorate-General of Health, in the case of positive screening for SARS-CoV-2 and/or prophylactic isolation of squad players; b) National Health Service doctor, in the case of an outbreak of another contagious, viral or bacterial disease, which determines inability to play; c) club doctor, in case of injury or illness for other causes, to be confirmed by SNS doctor in a signed certificate and with his stamp, delivered to the Portugal League within 24 hours; d) Portugal League, through the player's sanction record, in case of compliance with a disciplinary suspension sanction", can be read in the competition regulations.

"The decision to postpone is the responsibility of the President of the Portugal League and an Executive Director. The game postponed under this regime will be rescheduled for a date to be agreed by the clubs in the two working days following the initial date of the game or, in its absence, under the terms of paragraph 2 of article 44. In any case, the rescheduling of the game: a) must comply with the requirements of paragraph 5 of article 44; b) must be made for the period between the 5th and the 15th days, counted from the cessation of the general inability of the squad; c) cannot be made for a date after the weekend following the official date of the last round of championships organized by the Portugal League", concludes the document.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.