CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Portuguese champions FC Porto have been barred from competing in next season’s Champions League over a match-fixing scandal, European soccer’s governing body UEFA said on Wednesday.
“The UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body has decided FC Porto will not be admitted to the 2008-2009 UEFA Champions League after studying a matter involving alleged bribery of referees in Portuguese domestic matches in 2003-2004,” UEFA said in a statement.
Last month, Porto were found guilty by the Portuguese league of fixing two league matches in 2003-2004, the same season they won the Champions League — the world’s richest club competition. As a result the club was fined 150,000 euros (US$231,000), docked six points, the club’s president Jorge Pinto da Costa was suspended for two years and Boavista were relegated to the second division for their part in match-fixing.
Porto have not appealed against the points deduction, but da Costa has against his penalty. The president of the Portuguese Football Federation said he was surprised at UEFA’s decision, saying the affair was judged all the more harshly because it had involved the bribing of referees.
“We were surprised by certain arguments featured in the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body’s report that do not reflect the principles of fairness,” Gilberto Madail told news agency Lusa.
Madail then referred to the 2006 “Calciopoli” affair in Italy, a major scandal that involved a network of top figures from many Serie A clubs, including Juventus, AC Milan and Lazio.
“I’m asking for similar treatment and that those involved don’t hide behind interpretations of rules that are subject to discussion,” he said. “Our preoccupation is the defense of the interests of Portuguese football and the image of Portuguese football.”
“When the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body’s report highlighted the Porto affair, nothing was mentioned about the Italian scandal because it was not about the bribing of referees,” he said. “I ask myself then, if there are different degrees of corruption?”
The club said in a statement on Wednesday that they intend to appeal the ban which, if upheld, would see Vitoria Guimaraes, third in the domestic championship, automatically qualify for the second of the two Champions League spots on offer to Portuguese clubs.
“Following reports published in the Portuguese media about the issue, UEFA contacted the Portuguese Football Federation to obtain further information,” the UEFA statement continued. “The matter was subsequently referred to the UEFA judicial bodies for further examination, as there was felt to be a doubt over whether Porto fulfilled the admission criteria, notably Article 1.04 (d) of the 2008-2009 UEFA Champions League regulations. The article states that to be eligible to take part in the competition a club must, among other things, not be or have been involved in any activity aimed at arranging or influencing the outcome of a match at national or international level. The Control and Disciplinary Body considered that the offenses related to the judgment in Portugal corresponded with ‘an activity aimed at arranging or influencing the outcome of a match’ ... and that the condition set out in this provision would therefore not be met by Porto.”
The affair, which came to light in April 2004, also resulted in five referees being suspended for periods of between two-and-a-half and six years for either accepting the offer of prostitutes after matches, or one who received 2,500 euros prior to a match.
Porto — who were managed by former Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho at the time of the scandal, though he has not been implicated in the affair — won this season’s league by a 20-point margin over rivals Sporting Lisbon.
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