Cosme Damião Awards 2026: revisit the words of Rui Costa, Benfica president | OneFootball

Rui Costa had the honor of delivering the opening speech at the Cosme Damião Awards 2026 ceremony. Among his remarks, the President of Benfica praised the various personalities who shone over the past year and, among other topics, gave a sporting assessment, voicing criticism of what has been happening in Portuguese football. Read the full speech here.

"As we review the sporting year, we see achievements that make us proud, but we are the first to be self-critical. Frankly, we are not where we wanted to be. And it will always be this way, as long as we are not in first place. We do not shy away, nor will we ever shy away from this responsibility," Rui Costa began at the Cosme Damião Awards.

"But we cannot, nor will we ever accept, in any way, what has been happening in Portuguese football. We cannot forget the way we were denied a Portuguese Cup, nor what we have witnessed throughout this championship. The example from the last matchday in Arouca is glaring, but it is just one more example compared to what we have seen on other fields," recalled the President, referring to the incidents on Saturday, March 14.

"We also cannot accept the unjustifiable punishment of José Mourinho for events that demonstrably did not happen. We demand rigor, we demand respect for Benfica, and to compete on equal terms with our opponents," he stressed, coming to the defense of the Special One.

"We will continue to fight for our goals until our last breath. That is what I demand. But it is imperative that we are allowed to fight with the same weapons as our rivals," said the President of Benfica as he kicked off the event that honors the personalities of the red universe.

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