Duarte Gomes explains FPF exit, reveals trust breakdown | OneFootball

Dismissed from his position as Technical Director of Refereeing at the Portuguese Football Federation, Duarte Gomes has now responded and also explained the reasons behind the decision. FC Porto and Benfica also commented on the official’s departure.

“Following the news made public today regarding my resignation from the role of National Technical Director of Refereeing at the Portuguese Football Federation, I believe it is my duty to provide the following clarifications:

1. At the end of last season, a professional football referee shared with me a set of information which, due to its content and sensitivity, raised very significant institutional concerns for me.

2. In light of that information, I understood it to be my institutional duty to take the steps I considered appropriate, which were carried out with discretion, neutrality and transparency.

3. The purpose of that initiative was to clarify the entire situation internally and assess whether the essential conditions of calm necessary for the normal performance of my duties were in place.

4. After those steps had been completed, I concluded that it was not possible to restore the degree of institutional trust that I considered essential to the performance of my position.

5. For that reason, and understanding that my remaining in office would be incompatible with the principles and values that have always guided my life, I made the decision to resign. 6. The formalisation of that decision and its respective grounds was carried out through a restricted and exclusively institutional channel, in a confidential manner, by email addressed to the President of the Refereeing Council, with the remaining members of that body copied in. 7. At no point did I call into question the honour, good name or reputation of any person, institution or member of the governing bodies of the Portuguese Football Federation or the Refereeing Council. 8. I never made public any names, specific facts or particular circumstances related to this matter.

9 – If that is the case, I will be fully available to provide any further clarifications requested of me by the competent authorities regarding the facts of which I became aware and the reasons that led to my resignation.

Reactions from the two clubs

Even before this official statement, FC Porto, through an institutional response, had already expressed its “deep concern and dismay over the facts recently made public regarding the refereeing sector and the departure of Duarte Gomes from the position of National Technical Director of Refereeing at the Portuguese Football Federation”.

Benfica, for its part, requested “an emergency meeting with the Board of the Portuguese Football Federation to demand full clarification and guarantees that Portuguese refereeing will not continue to be subject to pressure, constraints or influences that call sporting integrity into question.”

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