Rui Cerqueira and Vítor Baía ordered to compensate Varandas over Dragão garage case, appeals planned | OneFootball

On Tuesday, Rui Cerqueira, Porto’s communications chief, and Vítor Baía, the club’s vice-president and former goalkeeper, were ordered by the Porto District Court to compensate Sporting president Frederico Varandas over the Estádio do Dragão garage incident.

According to O Jogo, Cerqueira will appeal to the Porto Court of Appeal, which suspends the ruling. His sentence also includes a 1,200 euro fine and a one-year ban from sports venues during matches for offences against physical integrity. Baía received an identical fine for insults and is also expected to appeal.

The case stems from an altercation in which the Disciplinary Board of the Portuguese FA initially punished Cerqueira with 115 days of suspension, already served, and a 3,825 euro fine. The board found he struck Varandas’s right hand as he filmed, causing the phone to fall.

Cerqueira challenged that June 2022 decision at the South Central Administrative Court, which in April 2023 annulled the suspensions. It upheld only a fine against Porto’s SAD over a Twitter post showing a phone on the floor with the caption "Pinto da Costa, 40 anos a tirar a rede a Lisboa."

With the latest verdict now contested, the matter moves to the appellate court in Porto. Baía is expected to file his own challenge.

Source: O Jogo