Porto ‘tried to pressure’ FPF to drop Fábio Veríssimo from Benfica cup tie | OneFootball

According to Glorioso 1904, Porto are said to have tried to pressure the FPF to remove referee Fábio Veríssimo from Benfica’s Taça de Portugal quarter-final last season. Messages handed to authorities, taken from referees’ phones after a complaint by Duarte Gomes, referred to efforts to have him stood down.

Veríssimo had been appointed to officiate Porto v Benfica in January’s quarter-final. Porto allegedly wanted him off the Clássico due to a dispute between the parties.

Veríssimo had earlier been at the centre of a major row around Porto v Braga in the previous campaign. A television was said to have been placed in the officials’ dressing room at half-time, impossible to switch off, looping clips in which Porto felt aggrieved.

Luciano Gonçalves, president of the Refereeing Council, is said to have threatened to expose the FPF figure who tried to influence his choice of referee. Despite the pressure, Veríssimo remained on the tie.

Benfica were then eliminated, José Mourinho’s side losing 1-0 away to Porto in the 2025/26 quarter-finals, with Jan Bednarek scoring on 15 minutes.

The next Clássico is set for Sunday 20 September, the seventh round of the Liga Portugal Betclic, kicking off at 20:30 at Estádio do Dragão. Before then, Benfica host Gil Vicente and travel to Italy to face Milan.

Source: Glorioso 1904

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”