Liga Portugal: No deal on FC Porto postponement, we stepped in | OneFootball

Liga Portugal stated, in a press release, that the rescheduling of the Arouca–FC Porto match resulted from the absence of minimum safety conditions identified by local authorities, with the decision being made only after attempts at reaching an understanding between the clubs.

FC Porto contested the postponement of the match in Arouca, which was initially scheduled for Sunday and rescheduled for Monday, claiming it harmed the team’s preparation. Rio Ave also expressed dissatisfaction with the change of their match against Famalicão, originally set for the same Monday, September 29, as a consequence of the postponement of the FC Porto match, and criticized the impact of that decision on their logistics.

The organization emphasized that all changes complied with the Competition Regulations and the procedures for consulting the sports clubs and public entities involved, including meetings with the Arouca City Council, the GNR, and local firefighters.

«Following the rescheduling of the FC Arouca-FC Porto and FC Famalicão-Rio Ave FC matches, now set for September 29 and 28 respectively, Liga Portugal wishes to clarify:

The decision to postpone the first of these matches is supported by the Competition Regulations, as the “absence of minimum safety conditions” notified to Liga Portugal constitutes a force majeure event, and the decision followed the prior procedures for consulting the Sports Clubs and public entities involved.

This decision was only made after an in-person meeting, on September 8, at the Arouca Town Hall, with the President of the Arouca City Council/Municipal Civil Protection Authority, representatives of both Sports Clubs, the territorially competent GNR Commander, and local firefighters, followed by a period of seeking an understanding between the two sports clubs. In the absence of such an understanding, Liga Portugal was forced to intervene.

Additionally, the aforementioned decision affected the scheduling of the FC Famalicão-Rio Ave FC match, previously set for September 29. In this case, after a negative opinion from the holder of the television rights for broadcasting this match on that Monday, and after consulting the Permanent Calendar Commission and the Sports Clubs, Liga Portugal relied on the same Regulations to reschedule the match».

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