Luis Suárez could face ban soon after gesture in Sporting v Porto | OneFootball

Luis Suárez will be under the scrutiny of the Disciplinary Council of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) in the coming days, taking into account the complaint filed by the Dragons due to a gesture in which the forward insinuated that referee Cláudio Pereira was favoring the blue and whites, as well as two moments of alleged aggression against Bednarek, in last Tuesday's Sporting - Porto match.

However, Lúcio Correia, professor of Sports Law at Universidade Lusíada de Lisboa, believes that, even if a potential punishment is confirmed, it will hardly be served this season. "Even if the player is sanctioned, it is unlikely he will serve the punishment this season. There are less than three months left until the end of the season. Assuming the FPF Disciplinary Council acts quickly, the decision it makes can be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAD)," he pointed out in statements to the newspaper O Jogo.

"Luis Suárez will, most likely, be present in the second leg of the tie with Porto. There could still be an appeal to the Southern Central Administrative Court (TCAS) [if the TAD's decision is not favorable to Suárez]. There will be no direct consequences this season, it is highly unlikely. If the punishment is handed down before the second leg with Porto, I believe that TAD would allow the player to be used, if Sporting appeals the Disciplinary Council's decision," he said.

The lawyer also explained that it is more likely Suárez will be punished for the gesture directed at the referee than for the alleged aggressions against the Porto center-back: "The 'theft' gesture could constitute a violation of Article 157 or 158 of the Liga Portugal Disciplinary Regulations, which also apply to the Portuguese Cup, resulting in a sanction of between one and four matches, and a fine between 15 and 75 UC (1,530 to 7,650 euros)."

"Either there is a gesture that offends the dignity of the referee (157), or it is an injurious act against his image or honorability (158), which is substantiated by the images—the two articles provide for the same punishment. To prove it, the referee's report, the match delegate's report, images, and witnesses are important. In this case, the referee did not see it and did not sanction the player for the gesture. The 'Field of Play' doctrine does not allow the referee's decision on the field to be overruled [unless the referee later admits he made a mistake in assessing the incident]," he highlighted.

It should be noted that Suárez's gesture suggesting a "theft," in the incident between Geny Catamo and Alberto Costa at the end of the first half, in which the Lions called for a second yellow card for the Porto full-back, is not included in referee Cláudio Pereira's match report.

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