CCTV, witnesses can't prove VAR was switched off on purpose in Porto-Braga | OneFootball

The FC Porto-Sp. Braga (2-1) match, corresponding to the 10th round of the Liga Betclic, experienced a disruption in the VAR system during the final phase of halftime, which delayed the start of the second half by 45 seconds. The Disciplinary Council of the FPF launched an inquiry into the incident, which was later archived.

With the publication of the inquiry's decision, it is clear that the Commission of Instructors analyzed surveillance footage and heard five witnesses, without being able to obtain sufficient evidence of a possible intentional deactivation of the VAR. “Indeed: it was not possible to identify, through CCTV images, any unequivocal positive act of disconnection; and the most plausible explanation, in light of what was found, is an accidental disconnection, whose specific authorship could not be determined and which, by itself, does not allow for the support of a violation of regulatory duties by any particular agent or entity. (…) Considering the sufficiency of the steps taken (which dispense with the determination of any additional ones), it is believed that there are not enough data, elements, or circumstances that, weighed together and even through logical-rational reasoning, allow for a serious and well-founded admission of any reasonable possibility of determining a violation of regulatory norms or the practice of any disciplinary infraction within the scope of the facts subject to this inquiry process,” reads the conclusion of the process.

In examining the images, the Commission of Instructors did not find any action linking the disconnection of the VAR system plug to the power outlet located on a wall near the central stand of the Estádio do Dragão, highlighting the presence of a person who was later identified during the proceedings.

First to be heard was Rui Rodrigues, VAR support technician for FC Porto, whose responsibility is “to ensure the electrical power supply to the system, as well as to provide support if requested by Altice and/or Media Pro technicians.” The interviewee stated that he only became aware of the power failure the day after the match: “I learned, after the day of the game, through the Field Director of FC Porto SAD, that the system, in the part corresponding to the review area, was not functioning for a short period, near the start of the second half of the game, however, the system's operation was quickly restored. It was conveyed to him that there is no suspicion of any malicious action, with the most likely cause of the interruption being that someone tripped over a wire, accidentally unplugging it.”

José António Monteiro, a technician from Media Pro, stated he was “absolutely certain that the plug was connected to the outlet at the start of halftime, having a perfect memory of checking the connection before leaving the location” and added that “as far as he could perceive, the UPS [uninterruptible power supply] supported the operation of the equipment in the review area for about 10 minutes.”

For his part, Carlos Carvalho, security director of FC Porto, said he did not recognize the person highlighted in one of the surveillance images, whose identification was initially unknown, but suggested that it might be the technician responsible for the CO2 jets activated at the teams' entrance onto the field. This was followed by the testimony of Marco Paiva, FC Porto's field director, who “declared that all CCTV images were examined without detecting any fact that could have caused such an interruption” and “explained that the wire reaches the outlet through a technical duct, which runs the space between the review area and the aforementioned wall,” adding that “as the wire passes through this duct, it is impossible for someone to have tripped over it, thus unplugging it.” Marco Paiva then identified the person highlighted as Tiago Bernardo, a collaborator from CJR – Pirotecnia e Explosivos, S.A., who provided services to FC Porto related to the CO2 jets.

Tiago Bernardo confirmed that, within his functions, he needs to “use several electrical cables/wires that are connected to outlets located about 25 meters from the place where he is in the aforementioned image,” because “only there are three-phase outlets, of 32 Amperes, which are suitable for the equipment in question, and which do not confuse with the outlets that are closer to the review area.” “He further added that he took care not to mix the aforementioned cables/wires with those connected to any other equipment, and covered them with synthetic grass mats, to eliminate the risk of someone tripping over them. When asked, he stated that there is a technical duct that runs the space between the review area and the stand's wall, and that he presumes it is intended for the cable that supplies electricity to the equipment in the review area, for which there is a dedicated outlet, near the gate seen in the image, on the aforementioned wall. When asked, he stated that, in theory, it is not impossible that the manipulation, by him, of any equipment, caused the disconnection of this plug/cable from the respective outlet, however, given the care he took and what he observed on site, this is highly unlikely,” the document reads.

Given the facts and testimonies, the investigator recommended “the archiving of the case, concluding that, despite the relevance of the facts under investigation – temporary interruption of the VAR system operation, with a 45-second delay in the resumption of the 2nd half of the game subject to the case –, no indicative elements were collected that allow attributing such occurrence to any conduct of disciplinary relevance.”

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