Disciplinary Board dismissed FC Porto's complaint against Gonçalo Inácio | OneFootball

At the end of last week, the ruling of the Disciplinary Council (CD) of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) was made public regarding the complaint filed by FC Porto against Gonçalo Inácio, following an incident involving William Gomes in the second leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-finals. At the time, the Dragons believed that the move, which took place in the opening minutes of the match, warranted a red card and also put the player’s physical integrity at risk. Even so, the CD decided to close the case, in a decision that has now been explained.

The ruling first sets out the complaint by Porto, with the club from Invicta stating that Inácio “assaulted the player during an attacking move in which William Gomes was clearly advancing with the ball under control towards the opposing goal.” “The movement dynamics of the Respondent clearly show a trajectory of the lower limb directed not at the ball, but at the opponent’s body, amounting to conduct objectively incompatible with any regular and fair challenge,” the Dragons further argued.

Despite this, the CD maintains that, according to the accounts of the match officials, it was not “a clear and obvious error,” and therefore there was “no basis for intervention.” “In light of the above, it must be concluded that, when confronted with the expert and especially qualified opinions brought into the proceedings, there is no unanimous solution regarding the classification of the conduct of the Defendant Gonçalo Inácio, nor even an assessment that overcomes reasonable doubt as to whether there was a breach of article 154, no. 5 of the RDLPFP, or any other offence punishable by a red card and dismissal from the field of play. On the contrary, and taking into account the position adopted by the VAR and the AVAR after reviewing the footage again, the existence of an infringement of the Laws of the Game remains disputed and doubtful or, at the very least, is not clear and obvious. In other words, translating the language of the Laws of the Game into legal discourse, the conviction of the video officiating team members regarding the existence of an offence punishable by a red card does not overcome reasonable doubt,” the FPF body explained.

Gonçalo Inácio went off injured after this controversial incident with William Gomes near Sporting’s box

Key to this decision were the statements of the officials from the classic clash in the premier cup competition: referee Miguel Nogueira, his officiating team, as well as VAR João Malheiro Pinto and AVAR Pedro Felisberto, who were asked whether they had seen the incident in its entirety and whether they maintained the same position.

“No, which is why I did not signal any infringement on the field of play,” said referee Miguel Nogueira after reviewing the footage. “After analysing the images, it can be seen that player no. 25/B, in a challenge for the ball, negligently kicked his opponent no. 7, preventing him from continuing in possession of the ball into the penalty area, thereby denying a Clear Goal-Scoring Opportunity. A direct free kick should have been awarded and a red card shown to the offender,” it is explained.

The VAR, however, believes he assessed the play correctly. “Yes, I do. According to my interpretation, this was not a clear and obvious error requiring video assistant referee intervention. From the VAR perspective. […] I maintain that, from the VAR perspective, this was not a clear and obvious error, therefore there was no basis for intervention,” he said.

In view of this assessment, the CD concluded that “it is clear that the members of the on-field refereeing team did not perceive the incident in question in its full extent, whereas the members of the video officiating team expressly stated that they had perceived and considered it and, ex post, continue to maintain that there was no clear and obvious error that would justify their intervention under the terms of the VAR Protocol.”

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