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

The Liga Portugal stated, in a communiqué, that the change of the Arouca–FC Porto match resulted from the absence of minimum safety conditions indicated by local authorities, with the decision being made only after attempts to reach an understanding between the clubs.

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

The entity emphasized that all changes complied with the Competition Regulations and the consultation procedures with the sports societies and public entities involved, including meetings with the Arouca City Council, the GNR, and local firefighters.

«Following the change of dates for the FC Arouca-FC Porto and FC Famalicão-Rio Ave FC games, respectively to September 29 and 28, Liga Portugal wishes to clarify:

The decision to postpone the first of these games is supported by the Competition Regulations, as the "absence of minimum safety conditions" notified to Liga Portugal constitutes a force majeure reason and followed the prior consultation procedures with the Sports Societies and public entities involved.

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

Additionally, the aforementioned decision impacted the scheduling of the FC Famalicão-Rio Ave FC game, 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, the consultation of the Permanent Calendar Commission and the Sports Societies, Liga Portugal resorted to the same Regulation to reschedule the match».

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