After a succession of weekends marked by intense criticism of the referees, the Arbitration Council (CA) of the Portuguese Football Federation decided to go public, in a press conference, to outline the balance of the first ten rounds of the championship and send a message of firmness: disciplinary regulations “should be more punitive” In the face of growing pressure on referees, president Luciano Gonçalves and technical director Duarte Gomes defended.
“We all agree that our disciplinary regulations should be more punitive,” said Luciano Gonçalves. “If this is the way for certain episodes to stop happening, this has to be the way. APAF will present a proposed change to the League. We hope that the clubs and the Federation are sensitive to this.”
The position comes after recent incidents involving FC Porto, Sporting and Benfica games, which reignited the debate about coercion and respect for refereeing.
“No one blows anyone up here”
Luciano Gonçalves guaranteed that CA will not give in to external pressure or carry out “jarras”, that is, symbolic removals of referees.
“With this Arbitration Council there will be no vases. Vases are for flowers”, joked the president. “If an arbitrator is not appointed, it is for management reasons, accountability, or even to protect him from exposure, never due to outside pressure.”
The leader also highlighted that No referee will be punished due to pressure from any club or media pressure. “No one here blows anyone up”, he said, in an allusion to the phrase with which Benfica’s sporting director, Mário Branco, allegedly threatened referee Gustavo Correia at the end of the game with Casa Pia, according to the judge’s own report published by the newspaper Record. “If a referee moves down a division, it will be due to performance, never due to interference from anyone.”
Duarte Gomes: “There are no Maradonas in refereeing”
Duarte Gomes presented numbers and technical explanations about the work of referees and the functioning of VAR. According to the technical director, in the first 90 games of the 1st League there were 40 interventions by the video referee, with one 97% hit rate.
“There are no Maradonas in refereeing”, he summarized. Why do referees make mistakes? “Due to deconcentration, positioning, difficulty of the move or even being deceived, many times. But everything works. The error is studied, evaluated and corrected.”
The official highlighted the investment in education and training, and guaranteed that referees “are held responsible when they make mistakes”, although often, he said, “the absence of appointment only serves as a form of protection”. “A mistake even has a family impact. Sometimes it is more sensible to protect than to punish”, he acknowledged.
“We prefer this to the cork law”
Faced with public outcry from directors and coaches, Duarte Gomes defended the opening of the AC and the commitment to transparency: “We prefer this to the grayness of the cork law. We do not hide from outside noise. We learn from constructive criticism, we ignore the rest.”
And he assured that the CA wants to continue communicating regularly with the public and the press, through conferences and television bid analysis programs, maintaining the commitment to “clarity and accountability”.
Next step: National Arbitration Plan
Luciano Gonçalves also announced that, in January, the National Arbitration Plan will be presented, a 12-year project that aims to “triple the number of arbitrators” in Portugal and define a common strategy “from bottom to top”.
“We have to create conditions so that young people want to be referees and respect football. Only then can we grow.”
“We will not waver, regardless of the storms”concluded Duarte Gomes. “Portuguese arbitration is on the right path — but it needs to be respected.”