Rui Costa hits back at accusations, slams Benfica election meddling | OneFootball

Those responsible for Rui Costa's candidacy in the Benfica elections defend the president of the "encarnados"

The individuals responsible for Rui Costa's candidacy in the Benfica elections have come to the defense of the leader, regarding the investigation by the Central Department of Investigation and Penal Action (DCIAP), in which the president is suspected of violating European legislation, facing a sanction for allegedly supporting Russian interests, by receiving 70 thousand euros from Lokomotiv for Germán Conti.

"The “Only Benfica Matters” Candidacy regrets the desperate use of a situation that would be nothing more than a news footnote for an evident interference in the electoral process of Sport Lisboa e Benfica", reads the official statement.

"Wanting to directly involve Rui Costa in a situation detected and overcome, respecting the doubts raised afterwards in the process, is to exceed the bounds of reasonableness", admits the list of the current president of the "encarnados", assuring it is "A situation not detected at any point in the administrative process, from FIFA to the Bank, from the Club's Services to the other parties involved, promptly reversed with the suspension of the contract and the non-acceptance of subsequent payments which, although due to the Club, would be conditioned by the sanctions on Russia".

"Wanting to mix in a news story Rui Costa, Russia, and justice is to exceed all limits of opportunism in an electoral moment. Especially, our Club, which has proudly counted on great Ukrainian professionals in its main football team: Roman Yarenchuk, between 2021 and 2023, Anatoliy Trubin, since 2023, and Georgiy Sudakov, since the start of this season", they point out, referring to "opportunism in an electoral moment".

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