FC Porto call Fábio Veríssimo’s appointment “utterly baffling” | OneFootball

On the afternoon of this Tuesday, FC Porto expressed its displeasure at the appointment of Fábio Veríssimo to referee the classic against Benfica, a Portuguese Cup quarter-final match scheduled for 8:45 pm on Wednesday.

The blue and white club considers the decision “absolutely incomprehensible,” highlighting that “an appeal is currently pending at the Court of Arbitration for Sport regarding circumstances reported by the referee in question, related to the match between FC Porto and Braga, played on November 2, 2025.”

“This episode is part of a series of decisions made by the Refereeing Council throughout the current season that have contributed to the progressive erosion of confidence in the refereeing sector and to the discrediting of Portuguese football, demonstrating, in FC Porto’s opinion, that this body and, specifically, its President, Luciano Gonçalves, no longer meet the necessary conditions to continue performing their duties,” considers the blue and white club.

Read the full statement:

“FC Porto became aware today of the appointment of referee Fábio Veríssimo to officiate the match between FC Porto and SL Benfica, which will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, at Estádio do Dragão.

It is public knowledge that an appeal is currently pending at the Court of Arbitration for Sport regarding circumstances reported by the referee in question, related to the match between FC Porto and SC Braga, played on November 2, 2025.

It is also public knowledge that FC Porto filed a disciplinary complaint against the same referee, related to incidents that occurred during the match between FC Arouca and FC Porto, held on September 29, 2025, the outcome of which is still unknown.

In this context, the decision of the Refereeing Council to make this appointment is, from an objective point of view, absolutely incomprehensible and likely to negatively affect the image and credibility of Portuguese football, in addition to being detrimental to the referee involved.

This episode is part of a series of decisions made by the Refereeing Council throughout the current season that have contributed to the progressive erosion of confidence in the refereeing sector and to the discrediting of Portuguese football, demonstrating, in FC Porto’s opinion, that this body and, specifically, its President, Luciano Gonçalves, no longer meet the necessary conditions to continue performing their duties.

FC Porto also recalls that refereeing was presented by the current Board of the Portuguese Football Federation as one of the central pillars of its project for national football, and it is therefore legitimate to question, in light of recent events, whether this project still offers the necessary guarantees to ensure a credible, transparent, and sustainable future for Portuguese football.”

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