Mário Branco cleared! Famalicão-Benfica referee lied in his report | OneFootball

The controversial match between Famalicão and Benfica has once again made headlines, this time due to the Disciplinary Board’s decision regarding referee Gustavo Correia. The Porto-born official was given a reprimand after it was concluded that he included in the official report facts that did not correspond to reality regarding the behavior of Benfica’s general director, Mário Branco, in an episode that sparked major controversy.

, being stopped by stadium security staff and the police. The same version was also corroborated by the League delegate, João Ledo.

However, during the disciplinary proceedings, the Disciplinary Board analyzed footage from the CCTV system at Famalicão Municipal Stadium and reached a different conclusion. The recordings showed that Mário Branco never approached the refereeing team nor was he stopped by any police officer or stadium security staff member, contradicting an important part of the report drawn up by the referee.

Faced with the footage, Gustavo Correia acknowledged the mistake. The referee admitted that "after viewing the CCTV footage, it was found that sports official Mário Branco was not one of those moved away by police officers and stadium security staff, admitting that he made an error regarding his identification". The Disciplinary Board therefore concluded that the official "did not act with the degree of rigor, accuracy, and diligence required of him in the performance of his duties, allowing facts to be reported and substantiated that later proved to be inconsistent with the objectively established reality", issuing him a reprimand.

João Ledo, meanwhile, was acquitted. The delegate explained that he drew up the report based on what he observed and also on his experience, stating that he presumed Mário Branco had gone toward the referee because "someone who utters such insulting expressions cannot remain standing still". Although Mário Branco served a 25-day suspension for the insults directed at the referee, the proceedings ended with a formal censure of Gustavo Correia due to the inaccuracies identified in his report.

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