Lisbon giant Benfica on Tuesday acknowledged that it was being investigated for match fixing between 2016 and 2019 but called the accusations “unfounded”.
Portuguese media reported that the public prosecutor’s office has issued an indictment. It would be the third corruption case against Benfica in just over three years.
“Benfica and its lawyers will analyse in detail the accusation of which they were notified today,” the club said in a statement, saying that the suspicions related to “acts allegedly imputed to its ex-president and a former advisor”.
“Benfica will defend itself, without hesitation, from all unfounded accusations,” the club said, adding that “from what has already been analysed, these are unfounded”.
What are the allegations?
Local media reported that the public prosecutor’s office believed that Benfica granted financial advantages to rival Vitoria Setubal, which in return deliberately made life easier for the capital club during matches between the two teams.
The main defendant in the reported trial would be Luis Filipe Vieira, who ran the club for 18 years until his arrest in July 2021, in a case involving breach of trust and fraud.
Last year, the company that manages Benfica and several of its executives were charged with tax fraud. The public prosecutor said they had created a slush fund using false invoices.
In that investigation the case against the club’s current president, Rui Costa, has been dismissed, but the former Portuguese international will be called to testify at the trial, the date of which has not been announced.
What could be the consequences?
Popular daily Correio da Manha reported that the Public Prosecutor’s Office has also requested that Benfica be excluded from all sporting competitions, without specifying which ones.
Portugal’s most successful club, with 38 league titles and two European Cups, Benfica finished second in the domestic league last season and is currently third. It has won both its matches in the Champions League.
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