With Benfica in the mix, FPF snaps: From next season... | OneFootball

The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) presented the ‘Stop Violence’ campaign this Wednesday, as a call to action during matches in the two professional leagues and in three federation competitions, to be played on Saturday and Sunday. When launching the respective ‘movement’, Pedro Proença began by stressing that “the day has come when Football, united, says enough”. In turn, Joaquim Evangelista, president of the Players’ Union, made “an appeal to the big three”.

“We have not remained indifferent to the reports that have reached us in recent months. Episodes of violence linked to sport that make us reflect on what kind of world we want to leave behind,” said the FPF president, pointing to recent violent incidents against “refereeing teams, players, officials, fans and at children’s matches, the very first ones who should be protected”.

As it was already “impossible not to act”, Proença said that the FPF wanted to move “from words to action” and assured: “From next season onwards, we will have a safer environment for everyone involved, from the fans to the players and from the coaches to the referees.”

As for what was said by Joaquim Evangelista, he looked at violence beyond sport. “There is a hate-filled discourse that has taken hold, that politics has spilled over into and that demands a response from us as citizens,” he said, asking that this conduct be felt in society and in sport, where there should be “active sporting citizenship”, especially on the part of Benfica - which already knows the referee for the next round - , Sporting and Porto.

“Those with greater responsibility should show more demanding conduct,” he said, making “an appeal to the three big clubs” because they “have greater responsibility, because they affect the majority of fans and citizens”.

“In football, much of the violence that is expressed has to do with club-based rhetoric. I had high expectations for the new leadership, namely Rui Costa, André Villas-Boas and Frederico Varandas. Suddenly, I saw recurring behaviours from the past. It was important for there to be the ability to change that kind of discourse which affects the fans and spills onto the pitch, and which impacts referees the most,” he concluded emphatically.

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