Arouca vs FC Porto rescheduled: Dragons face three matches in six days | OneFootball

What FC Porto fans feared has been confirmed: the Arouca-FC Porto match, from the 7th round of the Primeira Liga, has been postponed by Liga Portugal. Initially scheduled for Sunday, September 28, it has been moved to Monday, September 29, during the same period when the blue and whites are competing in the Europa League and hosting Benfica in the classic of the 8th round, totaling three games in six days for FC Porto.

This possibility had already been on the table since September 9, when the Arouca City Council announced the impossibility of holding the match on the scheduled date “due to it coinciding with the Harvest Fair, an event that attracts thousands of visitors to Arouca.”

The Fair, the largest local celebration in the lands of Santa Mafalda, will concentrate most of the security resources (GNR, PSP, Firefighters, Civil Protection, among others) and will take place from September 25 to 28.

According to the newspaper Record, this fact came as a surprise because, in May, when Liga Portugal inquired about any possible constraints for the Primeira Liga calendar draw, neither FC Arouca, nor the City Council, Police, or Civil Protection indicated the need for the Lobos da Serra da Freita to play away in the 7th round.

When FC Porto learned of the unavailability of the date, they made it clear that they did not wish to postpone the match, due to their tight schedule.

There was even consideration of holding the game in an alternative stadium, but this solution did not move forward, especially since it would require Arouca to host Sporting and Benfica in the same venue that would host FC Porto, according to the regulations. The Arouca officials rejected the idea of playing away from their stadium.

New date violates regulations and forces FC Porto to play three games in six days

With no agreement between the clubs, Liga Portugal rescheduled the match for September 29, Monday, following Arouca’s suggestion and against FC Porto’s position, who are seeking points for Portugal in the UEFA ranking.

With kick-off now set for 8:00 pm, the schedule puts FC Porto in a delicate situation.

On September 25, the team travels to Austria to face Salzburg in their Europa League group stage debut. The next match will be precisely against Arouca, on Monday, September 29, before hosting Red Star Belgrade for the 2nd round of the Europa League, scheduled for Thursday, October 2.

Between the match with the Lobos da Serra da Freita and the trip to Serbia, there will be only 70 hours of rest, below the regulatory 72 hours.

After the match with Red Star, FC Porto will host Benfica at the Dragão on October 5, in the 8th round of the Primeira Liga, Sunday at 9:15 pm, again with only 71 hours of rest, also below the minimum required by the regulations.

When asked about the possibility of postponing the Arouca-FC Porto match, Reinaldo Teixeira, president of the League, stated that the organization would comply with the rules.

“This house abides by laws and rules. Security is always a sensitive issue. We are finalizing details within the regulations and a decision will be made. The League must make a decision in accordance with the rules that respect security,” he commented at the time.

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