FC Porto face Arouca despite “political” and “illegal” league decision | OneFootball

FC Porto announced this Thursday that it will show up for the match against Arouca, scheduled for September 29, although it made harsh criticisms of the League’s decision regarding the scheduling of the game.

In a statement, the Dragons regret that “Liga Portugal decided to maintain the political decision to force FC Porto to play three games in the same week, taking away a day of rest from the club before a European match that precedes the classic against SL Benfica.”

The blue and whites state that they will not contest the match as they have acted with a “sense of responsibility.”

It should be recalled that the change of the Arouca-FC Porto match (7th round of the League) from September 28 to September 29 was due to the Harvest Fair taking place over the weekend in Serra da Freita.

The municipality, in collaboration with Civil Protection, concluded that the safety conditions were not met to hold the game at the same time as the fair.

The full statement from FC Porto

FC Porto confirms its presence at the game in Arouca Following the postponement of the game in Arouca, for the seventh round of the championship, FC Porto informs that: 1. On September 19, after Liga Portugal made the unilateral decision to change the date of the match, the Club submitted a formal complaint to Liga Portugal, as it believes that such a decision blatantly violates the Regulations of the Competitions organized by Liga Portugal; 2. On the same day, Liga Portugal notified FC Porto that it had decided to maintain its decision, arguing that the Competition Regulations grant Liga Portugal, in the circumstances at hand, the “discretionary power” to set a new date for the match in question; 3. Although there were alternative calendar options available that would have adequately protected the legitimate interests of the parties involved, and despite being given the opportunity to reconsider and comply with legality, Liga Portugal decided to maintain the political decision to force FC Porto to play three games in the same week, taking away a day of rest from the Club before a European match that precedes the classic against SL Benfica; 4. FC Porto reiterates that the decision of Liga Portugal is manifestly illegal, as it violates the Competition Regulations which, expressly and without any margin for doubt, prohibit the rescheduling of a match within 30 hours in situations where one of the clubs has to play an official UEFA competition match the following week; 5. Without prejudice to its right to contest the decision of Liga Portugal, FC Porto hereby confirms its presence at the match on the new scheduled date (September 29, 8:00 p.m.). This position is taken with a sense of responsibility, since the uncertainty that would result from filing an injunction – which would leave the team not knowing when it would play, as this would depend on the timing of the competent authorities’ decisions – would cause even greater harm to sports planning; 6. However, we must point out that this decision by Liga Portugal is highly detrimental, not only to the legitimate interests of FC Porto, but also to the credibility and very interests of Portuguese football, which are seriously compromised. Even so, we are certain that our fans, despite the match being played on a weekday and in Arouca, will know how to unite around the team and show up in great numbers, demonstrating, once again, our strength and our unwavering commitment in defense of FC Porto.

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