Mário Branco suspended for 30 days after Arouca match incident | OneFootball

Mário Branco has been suspended for 30 days and fined 10,200 euros after the Arouca v Benfica match. According to Glorioso 1904, the Disciplinary Board sanctioned Benfica’s general manager of football for insulting referee José Bessa, citing injury to honour and reputation and a slanderous denunciation.

It follows further fallout from the same game, with António Silva receiving his fifth yellow card and Amar Dedic sent off.

Branco is understood to have threatened to expose the past while inside the referees' dressing room, with Simão Sabrosa present.

It was not the first flashpoint involving Bessa. In the first round at Alverca, a 2-1 Benfica win, Branco criticised the officiating, saying the club would monitor refereeing criteria and that a strict standard had not been outlined at the pre-season meeting at Cidade do Futebol. He then faced a disciplinary case.

Separately, Benfica have been fined 7,650 euros for failing to present a coach for the flash interview. The club remain in a media blackout following the sanction placed on José Mourinho after he was dismissed against Porto on matchday 25.

Source: Glorioso 1904