Sporting wants tougher penalties for attacks on refs beyond Portugal | OneFootball

Sporting will present a set of proposals for regulatory changes this Wednesday at the Liga Portugal general assembly, scheduled to take place in Porto from 3:00 p.m. The Lions have already formally submitted the document with the measures they want to see discussed for the 2026/27 season.

Clube de Alvalade will be represented at the meeting by Patrícia Lopes, executive adviser to the board, and by Amândio Novais, legal adviser to Sporting’s SAD. Among the main proposals put forward by the green-and-whites is tougher sanctions for conduct directed against refereeing teams.

While the League is proposing a 25% increase in fines related to statements, insults, threats or protests against referees, Sporting wants to go further and intends to quadruple the minimum and maximum limits of those disciplinary sanctions. The aim of the SAD led by Frederico Varandas is to significantly tighten the punitive framework in such cases.

Another of Sporting’s proposals calls for the creation of a specific disciplinary offence to punish coordinated ball-boy behaviour that interferes with the normal course of matches, including the possibility of games being played behind closed doors. Sporting also proposes holding members of club boards directly responsible for attacks on the honour of refereeing teams through official statements or social media posts.

The green-and-whites also want changes to the way VAR operates, arguing for explicit authorisation to intervene in wrongly awarded corners. Finally, the club suggests a change in the positioning of the dugouts in stadiums, with the away team taking the bench located behind the assistant referee, in an attempt to reduce the pressure usually exerted by home clubs on refereeing teams.

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