Villas-Boas wants FPF refereeing chief temporarily suspended

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Portal dos Dragões

·28 luglio 2026

Villas-Boas wants FPF refereeing chief temporarily suspended

André Villas-Boas, president of FC Porto, argued on Monday that Luciano Gonçalves, head of the Refereeing Council (CA) of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), should temporarily suspend his duties until the suspicions surrounding the appointments process are fully clarified.

In the editorial of the July issue of Dragões magazine, André Villas-Boas says that the institutional crisis currently affecting refereeing “does not bode well” for the start of the new season, while also reiterating criticism of the CA’s conduct.

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“We consider it prudent for the president of the CA to temporarily suspend his duties while defending his good name and while the facts are clarified. Not as an anticipation of guilt, but as protection for the individual, the role he holds and the institution he represents,” it reads.

Although the FPF’s Justice Council (CJ) shelved last Friday the disciplinary proceedings brought against Luciano Gonçalves over alleged interference in refereeing, Villas-Boas believes that decision “does not lessen the mistrust surrounding the sector’s leadership”. The case is being followed through an inquiry by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP), with the support of the Judicial Police (PJ).

The FC Porto president insists that the club does not intend to jump to conclusions or replace the judicial authorities, while maintaining, however, that the facts should be clarified quickly.

“The recently disclosed reports state that the PJ received a complaint and is carrying out inquiries into suspicions of corruption and influence peddling related to those appointments. We are not jumping to conclusions, we are not making public condemnations, and we are not replacing the authorities. What we do expect is a swift, rigorous and complete investigation,” he stresses.

The blue-and-white leader also calls for action from the FPF, arguing that the federation cannot treat the situation “as a mere internal disagreement”.

“What is at stake is confidence in the processes, in the appointments and in the integrity of the competitions after a disastrous season,” he stressed.

Complaint originated with Duarte Gomes

The case examined by the FPF’s CJ against Luciano Gonçalves originated from a complaint filed by Duarte Gomes. After leaving his post as National Technical Director of Refereeing, he revealed that a referee had passed on to him “a set of pieces of information which, because of their content and sensitivity, raised very significant institutional concerns”.

The report considered it proven that Luciano Gonçalves sent a message to Hélder Malheiro, but concluded that “it was not possible to determine with certainty either the context or the meaning of the message”. It therefore rejected the existence of sufficient evidence to establish a link between the content of the message and any promises that Hélder Malheiro would remain in the top category.

The investigator also concluded that insufficient evidence had been presented to show that Luciano Gonçalves passed on information in advance about referee appointments or that any appointment had been made at the request of a club.

Also on Monday, the newspaper Público reported that the PJ received a complaint bringing together various pieces of information about the case, namely regarding referee appointments and how these became known, including specific examples.

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