Rui Costa sends Benfica rivals a message: no good for business | OneFootball

Rui Costa, Benfica president, was at the Assembly of the Republic on Wednesday morning, accompanied by Nuno Catarino and José Gandarez, vice-president of the SAD and vice-president of the Board respectively, for a meeting with the Socialist Party’s parliamentary group. The issues under discussion were Benfica FM and the centralization of television rights, and the current moment of turbulence among the "big three" could harm Portuguese football, says the Eagles’ president.

"Nothing is good for business when things are like this and have to happen this way, but it does not prevent the clubs from being in tune for the growth of Portuguese football", he commented in an exclusive interview with the newspaper 'A Bola'.

The leader of the Reds - who also spoke about Mourinho - reinforced his position. "One thing is one thing, another thing is another, and I do not question that the clubs can work together for the growth of Portuguese football. In that sense, we believe that the way the centralization of television rights is being viewed will not benefit Portuguese football, so it has to be something global and not just about Benfica".

Rui Costa spoke more specifically about Benfica FM and wants to resolve the disagreements preventing the radio station from having a frequency covering the whole country. "To make our complaints known and make our policy understood, what is at stake, both in one argument and the other, on the Benfica FM side, which is more private, more Benfica, and on the television rights side, which is more global, because it involves all of Portuguese football. To make those concerns known and raise awareness among the parties so that they can act accordingly".

Finally, the president was asked about the refereeing decisions that have affected Portuguese football, but he did not want to speak on the matter. "No, today the topics were the ones I have just mentioned, the other topics were not for now", he said.

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