The Benfica sail in a stormy sea. The “email case”, as it is renamed in Portugal, concerns the accusation of “corruption and tax fraud” for the alleged sale of several players by the Portuguese club between 2016 and 2019. A fact that, if convicted , could also lead to exclusion from sporting competitions from 3 months to 6 years at the request of the Prosecutor’s Office.
THE’accusation claims that former president Luís Filipe Vieira and Benfica’s previous legal advisor, Paulo Gonçalves, siphoned off millions of euros through the fictitious transfer of three players, all Brazilians. In fact, they are demanding 900 thousand euros from Benfica for illicit profits, while the Prosecutor’s Office has intervened to request the banning of 11 defendants – including Filipe Vieira and Paulo Gonçalves – from carrying out any sporting activity. If convicted, the sentence would range from one to 5 years, so that Vieira would be unable to run again as president of Benfica in the short term.
But Rui Costa? Yes, the current president of the Eagles has been acquitted. But that’s not all: the former AC Milan star was asked to testify against Benfica. In the meantime, Portuguese society, in the midst of chaos, broke the silence and sent an official statement to take a position on the incident.
The official press release
“Benfica and its lawyers will analyze in detail the accusation which was notified to them today and which holds Benfica responsible for alleged acts attributed to its former president and a former councillor.
They will take a procedural position in due course, but there is no doubt that Sport Lisboa and Benfica will defend themselves, without hesitation, from all unfounded accusations (and from what has already been analysed, they are unfounded), as well as from everything that strikes or it may have affected his rights and interests.”