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9 May 2008
Pinto da Costa banned for two years; Boavista relegated; heavy fines
Give your opinion
Your say on the scandal that has rocked Portuguese football
Portuguese football is in the headlines all over the world as corruption charges have been upheld against a number of the leading clubs and figures in the country.
PortuGOAL wants to hear your opinion about the verdicts, the justice (or not) of the punishments and the implications for football in Portugal. To give your opinion use the form at the bottom of this page.
Click here for full list of the corruption sentences and punishments
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21/06/2008 20:57
RICK
I hope I did not offend you in any of my posts. I know I can get pretty worked up over the topic. If in fact I did insult you I do extend my apologies to you. With that said, have a good summer, and looking forward to seeing you a few spots down on in the table next year...hahaha. Have a good one!
20/06/2008 16:45
Licinio. I know that I am out of my league in matching wits with such a brilliant commentator. But the purpose of bringing up the past isto show that, MAYBE, that is how things are done in Portugal. MAYBE, Porto did what they had to do to because it is the only way to win in Portugal. MAYBE we are saying the same thing. The problem is the system. Porto's punishment follows league rules. If Benfica was found guilty they would also get the same "slap on the wrist." It seems that we are also forgetting something about UEFA's decision. It covers the coming year but the investigation is still on. Porto still face the possibility of being suspended (if they qualify)after next season. That's it for me. Have a wonderful summer. Good luck next year.
20/06/2008 15:21
RICK:
Comparing match fixing with a political dictatorship and labeling the same as "corruption" is for lack of better words "grasping at straws". Indicating that Benfica would not have won anything had it not been for Eusebio is nothing more then stating the obvious. Back then the country's political system was what it was, and as such everything in the country was corrupt, not just soccer. Today however those political infulences don't exist, and as such your arguement is irrelevant. Don't misinterpret my words here, I'm not claming that Benfica or Sporting never fixed matches. It would be ignorant on my part to assume that. The simplicity of what I am actually trying to say may be lost in my tone of disgust. Once a team is found guilty of match fixing, they should be forced to suffer. Relagation to division 2, fines, suspensions from international competitions, removal of principals from the team etc... they should be subject to ALL of that in the very least. My problem is not with FC Porto, my problem is with the league who didn't have the stomach or the courage to do what was right. If the day ever comes that Sporting or Benfica are found guilty of the same they should be held to the same punishment. But untl that day FC Porto is the only one formaly charged and found guilty. Thinking that the guilty can be spared because of accusations of guilt other teams is in my mind and opinion stupid. Classic example of the "I know you are but what am I mentality"
19/06/2008 17:57
I am not denying corruption. I am just sick of the holier than thou attitude. Between 1935 and 1980, Benfica and Sporting won 39 titles. How the hell do you think the rest of Portuguese soccer fans felt during these years? Consider Benfica's glory years. I think we can all agree that without Eusebio this would not have been possible. It has been established that he should have played for Sporting but Benfica swooped in and got him under dubious circumstances. It has also been established that he wanted to leave Benfica for a more lucrative salary in Italy, but Salazar labelled him a "national treasure" and refused to let him go. Eusebio has stated that he made more money playing one year in the NASL than he did in all of his years with Benfica. All of those glory years were based on indentured servitude gained through "corruption". Lets look at Pinto da Costa. I would not ask the man to be my child's godfather. If I had to deal with him personally on financial matters I would not trust him as far as I could throw him. But in the worlds of commerce and sport there are few successful saints. Look at US sports for examples. Who are some of the more successful owners? George Steinbrenner, Jerry Buss, Jerry Jones, Ed DeBartolo, Al Davis. These guys have a lot in common with Pinto da Costa. An insane desire to win at any cost. Sleep the sleep of the just, my friend, just be aware that the delusion might be yours.
19/06/2008 16:20
This post is just becoming funny now. So FC Porto have dominated in the past 30 years?? Lets take the past 30 years of Portuguese Soccer and lets see who the dominating one really was. I promise you that FC Porto is not that winner of those statistics. Now credit where credit is due, FC Porto have been the strongest team in Portugal in the past 5 years. However when they are found guilty of match fixing, it raises a few questions as to how strong they actaully are.
It is wrong to defend a cheater, regardless what team it is, or what region of Portugal they are from. Did SLB and SCP fix matches? Who knows. Fact is we all know, ad now the world knows the FCP did.
FC Porto is lucky that our Liga and it's executives are spineless, and don't have the guts to demote one of Portugals top teams to division 2. Either they will miss the revenues a team like FCP brings to the liga or they where just simply as guilty to Mr. Pinto da Costa and neautalized the situation before the shit storm ended up back in their lap.
Regardless nobody can deny that FC Porto fixed matches, and nobody can deny that they got off with a slap on the wrist. When the facts are staring you in the face, you only don't see the truth if you don't want to, or if you are to mentally challanged to interpret what you are seeing.
I have never seen a more dillusional group of people, in my life then FC Porto Fans. It's almost a cult-like mentality. How sad!!
18/06/2008 04:12
Between 1974 and 1994, Real Madrid won 11 championships. Between 1976 and 1996 Juventus won 8 championships. Since 1992 Manchester United have won 10 championships. These are impressive numbers in leagues that are far more competitive than the Superliga. Between 1977 and 1997 Benfica won 10 championships. Is consistent success a sign of corruption? Maybe you slept with more women because you ran better game than the other guys at the bar.
18/06/2008 02:15
Rick,
Yes, there have been suspect calls with every team in the liga, which makes me wonder about the quality of offciating in Portugal, but as it stands, Porto, Boavista, Leiria and Gondomar are the clubs who have benefited the most because of their persuasion and have been found guilty. You can't deny that. What this does is beg the question, what else happened because as you know, where there's smoke, there's fire.
Unfortunately, Porto have no credibility and what we suspected has come to light - finally. Pro-Lisbon? Do you have any proof? Where's your back-up? As I said, for the last 25 years, Porto have won all but 4 championships. How is that possible? Look at all the other leagues in Europe and not even Real Madrid, Barcelona, ManUtd, Liverpool, AC Milan, Inter, Juventus (before their corruption charges) won as many titles in that same time period. Players and coaches come and go, yes, but not the same number that Porto have seen, yet the standard stays the same?
I would love for nothing more than to have the game cleaned up and if Benfica and Sporting fall to Porto, Braga, Maritimo and Guimaraes, so be it, but don't try to tell everyone here that Porto are the best hands down. It's like me saying that I'm a bigger stud than you are because I slept with more women. But if you find out I paid for them, big deal, right? Anyone can do that and call themselves "the man".
What would you think if this had been reversed?
17/06/2008 09:45
Thanks Rui, for trying to interject some reasoned perspective in to this. Fact is, we're just going to continue digging our own little trenches in this silly little soccer "war". But I find it naive to think that only Porto have had any influence on the soccer hierarchy in Portugal. You guys make it sound like every ref is under Pinto's influence and I am sorry but, I have seen calls go Benfica's way and go Sporting's way. Are you to tell me that NO referee in the past thirty years has not carried a Pro-Lisbon bias in to a game? What if, instead of constantly selling every young star as soon as they can, Sporting held on to its talent for an extra year or two? With a different transfer policy, perhaps Sporting would be shining 14 trophies in 20 years. What if, instead of stealing from his own team, Benfica's former president had invested in South American scouting before Porto developed their Argentinian/Brazilian pipeline? The future is not settled. Benfica will have its day. Sporting will have its day, and a few of these wins over the past thirty years came down to Porto simply having better teams.
17/06/2008 07:16
Rick take a deep breath! First, there is nothing wrong with someone calling FCP FC Porco. People call Benfica Lampioes all the time and it is just part of the rivalry thing. It happens in Portugal and all over the world.
(Thanks for Pintinho do Corrupcao I'll need to remember that one!)
The fact is that FCP has over the past 30 years simply dominated Portuguese football. They went from a small provincial teams to one of the great teams in the world. However, much of it was done by corruption and immoral means.
The fact is that in order to win the European Cup you really need two teams. One to compete domestically and one in Europe. If you have a really good team that is head and shoulders above your domestic rivals then you can concentrate on Europe. For example, a prostitute here and there for a ref, a trip to Brazil for another, a lunch here and there and soon you can have four or five points at the end of the season.
In short, you get a much bigger bang for your euro/escudo in Portugal. (And you can't
do it in the European competition!)
That is all that we are saying!
Rui
17/06/2008 05:53
You're right. The ONLY reason that Porto has won three European trophies is because Pinto got some refs laid. What is retarded is that now you will think of all the titles your team would have won if that big bad Pinto wasn't so evil. Look at the decisions your own team has made. If Pinto was Sporting or Benfica's president, there would be a bronze statue of his likeness right now in Lisbon and their fans would be defending their titles...and I'd probably be bitching about him...just like you're doing right now.
17/06/2008 05:37
RICK
The only thing you said in that enitre post that had an ounce of truth was when you said "FC Porto is back in the champions leage. Deal with it" Truth is that regardless how poorly the entire Apito Dourado scandle was handled, and regardless how revolting FC Porto and some of thier die hard fans can be the fact is that things are what they are and complaining about it isn't going to change anything.
But lets not lose sight of the facts. FC Porto is guilty, Pinto the Costa is Guilty, and they got off with a very minimal slap on the wrist by the leauge and by UEFA. But lets call it for what it is. Don't come on here preaching about how great a clan of cheaters are on the field, because regardles how good they are they are still cheaters and we will never know what would have happened had they played on their own merit. If you want to talk up your team, at least have the balls to brag about the only thing they did do right, and praise them for getting away with cheating, match fixing, bribery, and all the other wonderful things that FC Porto does so well. Praising them as great players and a great team is not only pathetic it's also makes you look slightly retarded for actually believing the Bullshit that's coming out of your mouth. There are many aspects to the game of futebol. FC Porto just happens to excel at the darker side of the game rather then the game itself. There is a special place in hell for all of them. I think it's called inferno da luz.
16/06/2008 23:13
All of these creative nicknames, FC Porco and Pintinho da Corrupcao. Well done. I hope your team presidents are spending as much time on scouting as you are on bitching about Porto. Interesting difference between Azevedo and Pintinho. Benfica's former president stole FROM his own club, and Pintinho is accused of attempting to influence referees IN FAVOR of his club. Corruption deserves to be punished. FC Porto and Pinto have been punished following the Portuguese League rules that were voted on by ALL members (includign Benfica and Sporting). The frustration felt by opposing fans is understandable, but this Apito Dourado scandal is giving you a cheap excuse for why your teams have not been consistently successful over the past few years. Pinto da Costa did not invent corruption and I would LOVE to see the cell phone records of all current and former presidents of Portuguese Leage teams. Especially those from those poor Lisbon based teams that apparently have such little influence on the country's referees. Give me a BLEEPING break. FC Porto is back in the Champions League. Deal with it.
16/06/2008 18:33
Emilia,
Slagging other countries has nothing to do with what we all know Porto really represent. Like Licinio mentioned, Vale e Azevedo was punished for stealing from the club, but Pintinho Da Corrupcao gets away with murder and will continue to do so because everyone's either afraid or getting their cut.
Also, don't start with the whole North vs South bulshit. That's propaganda contrived from poltiicians and people like Pintinho. Porto is a beautiful city and the people are very friendly, but it's the fans of the club who aren't worth squat. As long as you guys win, no matter the costs, then everything is fine. But when you lose, all hell breaks loose. Jesualdo even crys during press conferences on how the referees were unfair.
It's impossible for a team to dominate a league for as long as Porto have with so many players and coaches walking in and out of the door. Nowhere have I seen this happen, in any sport.
One last thing, if this is just football, then why is Porto so hell bent on trying to control it?
Don't join forums if you're not going to have any well-thought out arguements and be prepared to defend them. If you want to dish it out, then be prepared to take it.
16/06/2008 16:07
EMILIA:
YOu ask where the former president of Benfica is?? Do I really have to point out the fact that he was charged, and imprisoned and he just stole some money from the team. He didn't fix matches. So if Benfica's former president was booted out of Portugal, thrown in jail and charged for theft what do you think the penalty for Pinto the Dacosta should be considering he fixed matches, and brought down 2 other teams with him who ended up in division 2 and were fined a lot more money the FCP were?
By that line of thinking, if you really want to compare Pinto the Dacosta's crimes to Vale Azevedo's crimes then Pinto da Costa should be a prime canidate to get the electric chair.
Lets compare apples with apples, because if you don't you end up looking like a banana. Just a thought.
Perhaps Rui is right, to much time out in the sun could be the cause.
16/06/2008 06:32
Poor, poor Amelia, growing up in the Azores my grandmother told me not to spend a lot of time out in the sun. It seems that yours did not warn you enough about how it can impact your judgment.
Of course there is corruption in the US. Just like there is corruption everywhere in the world. The difference between you and me is that I will not defend corruption at any level. You can love FC Porco and still admit that PDC is a mafioso without a single gram of honesty in his body who has done more to corrupt Portuguese futebol than any other figure in the past 30 years.
Go and enjoy the sun. However, I am still of the mind that the important thing is not if you win or lose but how you play the game.
You on the other hand are just someone who is ethically challenged!
As for Portugal, lovely place to visit but I would NOT want to live there.
Now the Azores, that is PARADISE!
15/06/2008 22:36
Hey Rui from Oregon
Well it is late at night and so I dont need my sunglasses. I wear them during the day to protect me from the beautiful weather that we get in this little corner of heaven. With a name like yours you seem to be as Portuguese as me. I was an emigrant in England for 28 years but Iam proud to say that I have never forgotten my country and was so proud the day I was able to return.Unfortunately you seem have been influenced by all the bullshit that goes on in America. I read your comments that you hate Porto, etc..... well It is because people in that country have feelings like that the worls is full of hate wars, etc.I love Porto but above all I was always Portuguese and even when Benfica played abroad I always wanted them to win...It is so sad!!!! THERE are a lot of more important things in life than football!! It is why I aproud of being Portuguese above all!"!!
I am proud also of being a Northern and supporting Porto!
Get a life man. there are people starving in the world. There is corruption going on in countries like Usa,England, etc....Portugal is still very clean from all sorts of bad things!
Tomorrow I shall put my sunglasses again as no doubt there will be a lovely sunny day, not too hot just right, like everything else..Oh and the food is wonderful, etc....Who cares about SLB!! Never heard of them, I think!!!
15/06/2008 22:17
Duncan Porto is as corrupt as Benfica and anybody else. Mr. Pinto da Costa is still being tried on accusations made by a bitter ex-girlfriend. Like Pinto da Costa says if they have anything from their 'escutas' to his telephone calls then publish them! Miss Carolina Salgado has proved several times that she is a liar.Porto has been without a doubt the best portuguese team. Even Paulo Bento has been graceful when loosing. Benfica have been terrible in the last few years and cannot accept Porto's domination in the last years. You know it is nice to see teams like Switzerland after finishing their contibution in Europe being so sporty. The sign of a great team is shown just as much when they win as in the way they accept defeat. Unfortunately these are not qualities that Luis Filipe Veira has shown to have. Porto have been the best not because they have bought referies but because they played the best football! It is always the Lisbon teams that the FA panders to, it is about time Northern teams have what they deserve! The so called criminal accusations have not yet been proven and I am sure that you have heard that everybody is innocent until proven guilty. Well for now the case goes on so Porto must be still innocent. The corruption is in the false allegations made by certain people and as always the fantasies of the press. An inteligent person can take their own conclusions without the influence of biast news. We are Portuguese and should be defending teams like Porto.
15/06/2008 21:50
Emilia, you need to remove the sunglasses. Pinto Da Costa represents everything that his wrong with this world. He is dishonest, uses his wealth to corrupt others and lacks any moral compass.
The difference between us and you is that you are the type of person that believes that the ends justify the means. Sorry but wrong is wrong. I love SLB but will never defend any corruption by our players, president or anyone else that is part of our team.
I must say that I think that you reflect the typical attitude of many Portuguese towards ethics. I remember about ten years ago when I was crossing from Barreiro to Lisbon and a cop comes up to me and asks me for my ticket. When I asked him why he tells me that he submits these to get reimbursed by the police department. I'm not saying that there is only corruption in Portugal but in most places people realize wrong is wrong. Even Italy put Juventus in Serie B for a year. (And what PDC has done is much, much worse!)
15/06/2008 17:15
To Emilia, I have to reply to you. The great stain on Portuguese Football is FC Porto and Mr Pinto da Costa. They have been found guilty of trying to corrupt the game. Everybody wants to see the Portuguese game cleaned up and this should start by some real punishment to those found guilty of corruption. Now the officials at UEFA seem to be saying it is ok to try to cheat. Porto have been let of lightly and the Portuguese Football Federation should be ashamed of themselves for letting this situation continue. 6 point deduction for the last season is a joke and continuation in the Champions League sends out the worst message to all...'Cheating is ok!'. Next season will be another joke with Porto taking the ride out of everybody! Who knows how many other games that have been compromised by Mr Costa's antics. If UEFA are really serious about ending corruption in the game, here is a great opportunity...Porto must remain out of the Champions League and force the FPF to take 6 points of them from the start of the next season. Then I can watch the Portuguese game with confidence that the ref has not been 'bought'.
14/06/2008 17:27
FCPorto are the rightful owners of a place in the Champions league. They played the best football all season, have an absolute 1st class honest and educated manager (most managers can hardly pt two words together) and a good president who steered Porto to the top. Porto as a great club not just in football but in other modelities. Sport speaks there and everybody should be proud of such an organization Porto did not cheat, they are atacked because they represent the working North. So does Boavista it is a club over hundred years olhat also makes part of the old digmifying city of Porto. If anything less corrupt happened here (what like Pinto da Costa taking some referees for a meal as a hospitality gesture) it is nothing more than what happens in other parts of the country and even foreign countries where big money talks. By the way where is the old president of Benfica?? In England living very well thank you with the rest of his close family with the money he got out of frud. It is Portuguese football that is in question and every Portuguese should support them in the Iternational world . Porto has always represented ou country with great dignity and skill. This year they were champions and deserve to go out there and battle with al the other champions. They honour not just the city but also the country.
What Benfica could not win on the pitch is now to try and achieve through the back door. That is disgraceful !Lets send the great eagles of the past go and shame Portugal !
13/06/2008 18:36
I'm speachless!! This is the biggest bullshit I think I have ever heard.
Congratualtions to all the Porto Supports.....you managed to steel yet another one. FCP has single handedly managed to make a mockery of Portuguese Soccer and fair play world wide! Good Job.
FCP and PDC make me sick to my stomach.
13/06/2008 17:14
Complete horseshit!!! UEFA and the FPF are laughing stocks. First their guilty and now they're not? Based on what? The system works doesn't it. Now Porto will have carte blanche to do whatever the hell they want while the league suffers. I pray that this isn't the end. No balls whatsoever!!!!
06/06/2008 20:08
i find it very sad and heart breaking that a lot of portuguese people have no problem with slamming one of our clubs,cheating is cheating i do agree HOWEVER all this started from the word of a street walker,so does anybody honestly believe it? if the club is guilty or not this is no reason to point fingers @ fcp directly as tons of clubs are corrupt all over the world,ALSO being right in time for the euros to start i would rather see all portuguese come together fans of porto or benfica or whatever, lets forget this mishap and move on because not only does porto look bad it makes portugal look bad....FORCA PORTUGAL 08 we luv all u :]
04/06/2008 15:33
The entire soccer scandal in Portugal, has been a joke from the day the process began. Anybody who actualy reads the publications, reports, and now the final decisions from the League & UEFA has no choice but to conceed that fact the FCP are a stain in Portuguese Soccer. Pinto da Costa should be banned for life, from directing any Portuguese soccer team, and the club should have penalized their 6 points at the begining of the following season, where they could really feel the consequences of their actions since they were not relegated as they should have been. If Porto fans feel that their tema is so good a 6 point handicap going into next season should be a walk in the park.
Coruption happens in soccer. It' a known fact, that we can really do anything about. But the Leagues and UEFA have the responsibility to make the guilty accountable for their actions. Which in this case did not happen. Porto even went as far as not to appeal the 6 point penalty, and in essence admit guilt by doing so. UEFA caught on to that and did the right thing, but the Portuguese league just looked the other way and pretended nothing happened.
2 years to come to a decision and when they do they want it over with asap in hopes that nobody notices how stupid the decisions were and how incompentent our league directors are.
The clubs, and referes involved and the fans of those clubs who still preach how great thier cheating teams are should be ashamed of themselves.
How pathetic!
17/05/2008 16:52
To PSousaNJ, I think you should read my post again as I did not mention anything about Celtic. Although I did watch that game and thought the overacting of Baia was a bit over the top. However, I agree with you about Porto, they have a great structure in place and I really do wish that Benfica could get thier act together. I have been to many Benfica v Sporting games and have enjoyed them. I like the rivalry between clubs, except when it becomes really stupid. Going back to Porto. Porto have been found guilty of corruption. They have had 6 points deducted from this season...how is that a punishment? How is that justice? If the Portuguese game is to get clean, then it would be right that the 6 points should be deducted from the next season. If Porto are found in breach of UEFA regulations then they should not be allowed into the Champions League next season...now that would set an example to other clubs not to cheat!
17/05/2008 14:03
Your Costanza comparison is also appropriate because he worked for the NY Yankees, and as far as Portuguese soccer goes, Benfica are the Yankees. No team will ever replace them as the nation's team. The good news is that they will always have the resources and support to win, the bad news is that such high profile teams seem to attract owners/presidents who are more interested in feeding their ego then absorbing the daily grind that is required to build a winner.
16/05/2008 05:05
I must say the one thing that drives me crazy as a SLB fan is that ours presidents remind me of the old George Castanza episode on Seinfeld where George realizes that every decision he has made in life is wrong and he starts to do the opposite of what he would normally do.
Let us count the ways that these nitwits have destroyed our great team:
Building the old stadium that held over 100,000
Removing Mourinho as coach
Never developing a decent youth system
Never embraching technology
Never knowning how to market the team
Selling players like SS and MF
Never having a vision for the team and giving a coach an opportunity to develop it
Going after second rate foreign players
It goes on and on......
Say what you will about PDC but he is much smarter than any of the clowns that we have in charge in 30 years.
14/05/2008 20:18
Rui - It was a joke. But the sad thing is it also perfectly sums up how a lot of people feel.
14/05/2008 19:12
To Duncan im a Sporting fan but i have to say any little but of passion n rivalry thats shown in portuguese football is ok with me lets not all be pussies now.....I also have to say that Porto run their organisation the right way....they limit the amount of insignificant sports they play besides football they scout well install huge buyouts in contracts and sell high....thats why they do well....while benfica is the opposite end of the spectrum by not scouting very well, overpaying for players, selling their own talent at the wrong times therefore not getting what they should, not paying their players, etc...and sadly i must say sporting arent much better our buggesr mistaes being not putting huge buyout clauses on young studs and holding on to them until they develop somewhat and having to spend to much of the clubs money on insignificant sports that dont bring in the profit a football team does especially a succesful one....imagine sportings team right now had they held on to some key players (quaresma ronaldo n nanu to start)...As for the Celtic game stop whinning i watched that game and you were overmatched all over the pitch
14/05/2008 04:29
Rick, that was a joke!
I agree with you that FCP have over the last 20 years been the best, most consistent and smartest team in Portugal. (Boy, that really hurts to type!) However, I believe that when something is criminal, it is criminal. It makes no difference if it is SLB, SCP or FCP.
14/05/2008 00:11
"The cynical play, the lack of sportmanship and the corruption make most of us sick. (Unless it's for my team!!!!) "
The above quote is my point. I'm just laughing at the reactions of people who are obviously frustrated that their teams have been struggling to keep up with Porto. Now people want to pretend that the only reason that Porto has been successful is because of this case. That is ridiculous. Look at transfer policy, scouting, and the reinvestment of money back in to the club. Are we to assume the powers that be in Lisbon are saints? Would you be shocked to find out that this "case" was cooked up by some pissed off Benfica or Sporting fans?It is not fair to compare this case to Juventus. The record of corruption against their former president Moggi goes much further and deeper than what has been presented publicly (so far) in Apito Dourado. Boavista was punished more severely because they committed more severe crimes.
13/05/2008 04:14
So Rick what you are saying is corruption is okay because everyone is corrupt? Listen, my old man went to the 4th grade in the Azores but he told me that there is a wrong and a right. Once you start bending those rules where does it stop?
I do NOT defend corruption by SLB or FC Porco. If FPF had any huevos they would have done what was done in Italy. This is a true reflection of Portuguese society. Even if we have come a long way since '74 we still have a long way to go.
Perhaps this is the reason why people do not go to games in Portugal. The cynical play, the lack of sportmanship and the corruption make most of us sick. (Unless it's for my team!!!!)
12/05/2008 22:09
Blah, blah, blah. If Pinto da Costa were the president of Benfica, your stadium would be named Estadio da Costa and there would be a shiny statue out front. They win 14 out of 20 and that is evidence of corruption? What does that then say about Benfica's dominance during the years of Salazar and Eusebio's indentured servitude. Is Portuguese football corrupt? Absolutely. But I think Pinto is not the only criminal, just the smartest.
12/05/2008 14:26
What a joke! Found guilty of corruption and the penalty is a reduction of 6 points?? ^ points off a team who have clinced the campionship by 12 points.
If not for the fact that this has been going on for years, and they waited until there was enough of a point difference so that they could be charged without feeling the effects of the 6 point loss, this would be a different story. But 2 years waiting for this? Come on. Looks like the corruption in Portutugese soccer has now fully admited to the world that we are noting but joke!.
Italy had the guts to relegate some of their best teams (Juve, etc...) In portugal however we lack the courage to do the same and show the world that our league may be small but we uphold the same standards as the bigger leagues of the world.
The punishments do not fit the crime, and the corruption in Portuguese soccer continues, going right to the tribunels.
What is it going to take to set things right in Portugal? This can not continue. It's not even as if they try to hide it any more. Decisions like these almost antagonize people, almost as if to say "ya we're corrupt, and there is nothing you can do about it".
It's a sad sad day to be a Portuguese Soccer Fan.
11/05/2008 21:46
Coming from Scotland I find this quite interesting. We always have an undercurrent of suspicion regarding referees here, and just this weekend there was controversy in the Rangers v Dundee United match where the Dundee Utd manager said that because of the referee, there was no way his team could win the game. So we have these concerns in Scotland also.
I dont think Porto needed help to beat Celtic in 2003 (Im a Celtic fan also) and I realise this only affects Portuguese League matches, but I wonder sometimes if similar corruption exists in my country also. Hopefully you can sort it out in Portugal.
11/05/2008 20:07
First, Tim get a life! I'm a SLB fan and I HATE FC Porto with a passion but the idea that FCP needed help in defeating Celtic is ridiculous. FCP was a better team at every position. Sorry but Celtic were just beaten by a better team.
Second, eveyone knows about the corruption in Portugal. (And I ain't just talking about soccer!) I just wish that FPF had the balls to do the right thing.
11/05/2008 10:40
I think that justice was not served at all. Taking 6 points off porto is going to do nothing. They tried to cheat and their not going to learn a thing about this whole. They will probably do it again because they wont really be punished severely. Do the portuguese fa know how bad cheating is. They shouldn't be stripped off the points from the two games they should be stripped off more because no matter how many times you cheat it is completely unfair to do so and their should be a major punishment. The portuguese fa treated it as if it wasn't that big of a deal. In every type of sport you are told to play hard and fair. Porto have completely ignored and insulted all that and just to make it even worse they are the champions. For Da Costa he should be banned for ever because he has corrupted a huge football league
11/05/2008 05:40
Absolutely ridiculous!!! The league is afraid of losing revenue, so they deduct a meaningless 6pts. Clearly, Porto have been cheating for much longer. Despite having some good squads...Porto have clearly been dominant as a result of fixing many games. Their record under Pinto DaCosta clearly indicates that he has been, as many have suspected, corrupt for many years. Likely for the past number of years since Porto began its dominance, or should I say corruptness, has portuguese soccer become a joke. It has nothing to do with jealousy from other clubs, i.e.-Benfica, Sporting, but rather with keeping the playing field level. How can other clubs in Portuguese soccer ever compete if Porto (champions 14 times out of 20 past years-since 1988)have been corrupt. Ironically, since the time of Pinto DaCosta's reign. Fans who think this is the only incident of corruption are kidding themselves, accusations against Benfica and Sporting are only Porto's way of keeping the heat off themselves. Moreover, they likely cheated in European club competitions as well, but just not so obviously for fear of being caught by the more competent UEFA committee. As for the punishment, relegation would have been the best decision, although clearly it was avoided to assist the league financially. A ban from the UEFA trophies would also have been more appropriate, along with a lifetime ban for Pinto Da Costa. Gauranteed no championships any time soon, even without any proper punishments.
10/05/2008 23:32
Some of you seem to be taking away credit now for their victories out of Portugal. As for as I know those Victories were Genuine. Probably a relegation would be to harsh for Porto, but I would of liked them to have their CL spot/UEFA cuup spot next year taken away. That would of been a more suitable deal. Clearly thw FA is biased here.
10/05/2008 22:21
Celtic fans were accused of paranoia when they suggested the referee in the 2003 UEFA Cup final was biased. Anyone who watched that game and the cheating and diving that Porto got away with would now be justified in suspecting that the UEFA cup final of 2003 was rigged.
10/05/2008 18:05
FC Porto can eat ratty hay for all I care.
Benfica have a gammy eye, and Boavista are just GIRLFRIEND.
10/05/2008 13:15
Living in Lisbon for nearly 14 years and watching Portuguese football I can't believe that justice has been done at all. 6 meaningless points deducted at this point of the season. Porto should have these points deducted at the begining of the next season, this would then serve as a punishment. I belive that Mr Pinta da Costa has been a bad advertisment for Portuguese football. His constant rants against Benfica, and to a lesser extent Sporting, reveal his unsportsman like attitude. It comes as no surprise that he has been caught 'buying' the referees. How many more instances are there that we don't know about? How many of thier championships have been bought? May be now we can start to clean up the game.
10/05/2008 12:46
Justice was not served. Porto were clearly tampering and influencing results and if Pinto da Costa was guilty of these crimes, it begs the question, what else has his hand been in the cookie jar for? The president and club both go down because he was influencing results for his club and they benefited from it.
Some here still believe Porto are a dominate team? Well, you know how they achieved it. It's much easier to focus on a Uefa Cup and Champions League crown when you know that everything is well taken care of back home. Add the necessary breaks that a team needs to win a European trophy and presto, a dynasty is born.
Porto fans can't cry because they were caught and then look at Sporting and Benfica and claim that they were also corrupt. That's a cop out, do you have any proof? No, I didn't think so. Porto were not the only team found of corruption, so were Boavista and Leiria. I'm glad that something has been done, but more should have been dished out to the ring leaders FC Porto and their president. None of these clubs have any credibility. Maybe now we'll see a bettr game in Portugal and fans show up to the stadiums once again, despite who's playing, knowing that some of the bullshit has been washed away.
10/05/2008 12:38
You have to wonder how this will affect Boavista not only for next season but in the long term given their financial prediciment.
I think Porto should've been docked points from the start of next season, taking points from them at this stage is laughable.
10/05/2008 10:22
@ Jamakukula - Attempting to cheat is the exact same INTENT as cheating. The punishment should be the same for both. How successful they were in their cheating depended on others from outside the club, the club tried their best to cheat.
@ Zulu - Your logic is scary. You are effectively saying that because Porto are as big and as good as they are, they couldn't be relegated because results would suffer for 1 season. So this means Porto can do whatever they want with immunity. Surely the short, mid & longterm benefits of cleaning up the corruption in that league outweigh any short-term failings in the Champions League by lesser teams. It is remarkable that you would put results above the integrity of the league.
10/05/2008 09:44
The Portuguese FA have made the correct decision. Relegating Porto would of been a disaster for Portuguese football.
Porto would of missed out on Champions League football for at least 1 season leaving Sporting & Benfica to humiliate the nation in Europe like they do every year in Europe's greatest competiton. Our UEFA coefficient would of suffered even more as a result.
The Portuguese FA aren't stupid - just think of all the money that would of been lost in TV revenue, sponsorship and gate receipts. The effects would of devastated Portuguese football for many years.
As for Boavista, the Benfiquistas living in Porto will just have to cheer someone else now won't they?
10/05/2008 09:12
supporters of sporting and benfica would like porto in second division. that's clear but porto DIDN'T buy any matches. Relegation is a punishment for buying not for attemping to buy.
i really can understand that you are not able to deal with fact that porto is right now far away from your clubs but it's result of many factors. sporting cannot pay his players on time and that club wants to be better than porto? don't make me laugh. you can say that pinto da costa is bad but he can build team ready to fight in europe. under his control dragons won more than manchester united in his all history
09/05/2008 23:49
Porto should of gotten the Juventus treatment. Disgusting decision.
09/05/2008 22:46
George,
I am well aware that Porto play the best football in Portugal and no-one is claiming they bought their progress in Europe. Now if this really was an attempt to "bring down Porto and give their clubs a lift" then why was Porto's punishment a token gesture and effectively meaningless, while Boavista's punishment was crippling and ensured them at least a season in the 2nd division? Surely any attempt to level the playing field between the Northern teams and the Southern teams would have resulted in Porto suffering the same fate as Boavista. No I think it's fairly clear here that Porto, as the crown jewel in the Portuguese league were protected from proper punishment because lets face it, relegating Porto would have made a mockery of next season's league championship. I also find it highly ironic that the judgement reached here is, on the face of it, every bit as corrupt as the claims they were investigating. And for clarity here I have no allegiance to any Portuguese team. As a football fan I just found the disparity in punishments to be hugely suspicious and frankly disgustingly favourable towards (co-incidentally) the much bigger team.
Rgds
Brian
09/05/2008 22:29
Just to echo the comments, "Porto are no more corrupt than any other club in Portugal"...Especially Benfica!! If we did wrong, that's understood and we're being punished for it. As for it ONLY being a 6 point deduction, it's not our fault we dominated everyone else in the league so much that we jumped to a 20 point lead. If there were any clubs in Portugal anywhere near our level, maybe that 6 point deduction would have made a difference. The poor Sportinguistas and Benfiquistas need to stop being mad at Porto because their clubs can't play futbol.
09/05/2008 20:44
to George
Marseille, Juventus and AC Milan also won the champions league and have still been considered guilty for corruption.
09/05/2008 20:42
To Brian.
The reason for the different punishment is because Porto and Boavista were in trial for different types of crime.
check for Ricardo Costa (the president of the discipline committee) comments.
However i think the punishments are soft and its a shame only 1 season has been investigated.
This was the "sportjustice" lets wait for the "civil justice" trial.
cheers and sorry for the crappy english :D
09/05/2008 19:45
Brian,
As an English expat living in Portugal for over two decades let me enlighten you. Porto are no more corrupt than most other clubs in Portugal, such as Benfica. They have simply played the best football, are better run, and work harder. That's why they consisently beat all opposition in Portugal and also go further than any other Portuguese team in Europe - or did they supposedly buy 2 Champions Leagues and 1 Uefa Cup as well?
This is an attempt by the powers that be from the capital to bring down Porto and give their clubs a lift. Pinto da Costa is no saint, I admit, and if he'd been found to do wrong he should be punished.
But I repeat he did nothing that lots of other clubs were doing - as the Boavista chairman Joao Loureiro said.
I ask you, strange how only those north of Lisbon are brought to trial?
09/05/2008 19:19
Im very happy on this day. Pinto da Costa must be put in the jail and to stay there. Now football going be fair in Portugal and you going see porto no winning more. Are Porto the best? only at doing crime. Benfica and Sporting will start winning now. Yes porto should be put in Liga Vitalis or three division. but now they not winning no more!
09/05/2008 19:01
Hello there,
I am wondering what the reaction is in Portugal to the news that for very similar crimes, FC Porto and Boavista have been punished in hugely different ways? Porto get a completely meaningless points deduction that still makes them Champions, and Boavista must drop down a division!!!! I find it disgraceful and I am wondering if there is a similar reaction in Portugal to this? Will Boavista be appealing this decision? It is clear that BOTH clubs should be relegated. It appears to me that the Portuguese FA are pandering to FC Porto purely because of their size, and they have no interest in actually seeing justice done. It stinks to heaven and it makes Portuguese football and the Portuguese FA appear to be just as corrupt as the teams in the investigation.