Journalists’ union urges photographers to reject Porto’s terms | OneFootball

The Journalists’ Union (SJ) has called on photojournalists to refuse the conditions that FC Porto intends to impose for carrying out their duties at Estádio do Dragão, reminding that these professionals are already covered by the Press Law and the code of ethics.

In a statement, the SJ said that it “considers unacceptable the document that FC Porto wants to force photojournalists to sign in order to work at the club’s sporting events, namely at matches at Estádio do Dragão.”

The union structure emphasized that the “Professional Journalist Card, whose issuance frames professionals in compliance with ethical, deontological, and legal requirements, is sufficient for the granting of accreditations for public events,” adding that “this is the only criterion the SJ can accept to guarantee journalists’ access.”

The union also stressed that “journalists are already required to comply with the Press Law and the Journalist Statute” and have “an Ethical and Deontological Code that is the foundation of the profession.” Therefore, they do not need “a club or any other institution to require, in writing and signed, such a commitment.”

According to the SJ, the clauses proposed by FC Porto are “absolutely unacceptable,” as they limit the exercise of the profession and, in this way, may violate the Press Law—which, under Portuguese law, constitutes a crime—and other provisions of the document are “as unnecessary as they are difficult to understand, but impossible to tolerate.”

“The SJ wants to believe that FC Porto is a democratic club which, realizing the mistake of demanding the signing of this document, will back down from this requirement and comply with the law, accrediting photojournalists with a professional card for the events it organizes, starting today with the Portuguese Cup match,” it highlighted.

The union also asked photojournalists working at FC Porto events to refuse “to sign the proposed document” and not to “work without decent and safe conditions,” urging newsrooms to “support photojournalists and refuse to publish photos not taken by people legally qualified to practice the profession.”

The SJ stated, however, that although it disagrees with the proposed document, it “shares FC Porto’s concerns regarding the misuse of photographic material obtained at matches,” and highlighted that for years it “has fought for accreditations to be granted only to journalists with a professional card, whether at sporting, cultural, or other events.”

“If FC Porto intends to prevent or limit the entry of people who misuse photos taken at a public interest event, there is an easy solution: grant access only to photojournalists with a professional card,” it concluded.

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