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

What FC Porto supporters feared has been confirmed: the Arouca-FC Porto match, from the 7th round of the I League, has been postponed by Liga Portugal. Initially scheduled for Sunday, September 28, it has been moved to Monday, September 29, at the same time as the blues and whites compete in the Europa League and host Benfica in the 8th round classic, totaling three games in six days for FC Porto.

This possibility had 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 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 a large part of the security resources (GNR, PSP, Firefighters, Civil Protection, among others) and takes 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 potential constraints for the draw of the Primeira Liga schedule, neither FC Arouca, nor the City Council, Police or Civil Protection noted the need for the Wolves of Serra da Freita to play away in the 7th round.

When FC Porto became aware of the date unavailability, it made clear that it did not intend to postpone the match, due to the tight schedule.

The possibility of holding the game in an alternative stadium was considered, but this solution did not proceed, as it would imply that Arouca would have 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

Without agreement between the clubs, Liga Portugal rescheduled the match for September 29, Monday, following Arouca's suggestion and contrary to FC Porto's position, which is seeking points for Portugal in the UEFA ranking.

With kick-off now scheduled for 20:00, the schedule puts FC Porto in a delicate situation.

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

Between the match with the Wolves of Serra da Freita and the trip to the Serbians there will only be 70 hours of rest, below the 72 hours required by regulations.

After the match with Red Star, FC Porto hosts Benfica at Dragão on October 5, in the 8th round of the I League, Sunday at 21:15, again with only 71 hours of rest, also below the minimum required by regulations.

When consulted 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 has to make a decision in accordance with the rules of respect for security," he commented at the time.

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