Oliveirense condemns attack by Benfica roller hockey captain

The snub came after the end of the fourth game of the Portuguese Championship semi-final on Sunday, which ended in victory for Oliveirense.

“Our player Franco Platero was targeted unspeakable and unacceptable aggression from the Benfica goalkeeperPedro Henriques, as clearly shown by the footage on video,” the club said in a statement.

The images show a typical greeting between players after the end of a match, and also show the moment in which goalkeeper Pedro Enriquez Platero falls to the ground as he greets him.

“As a professional player and captain, his behavior should be an example, above all, for future generations, and there were many young people who witnessed this sad episode that marred the end of the game,” Oliveirense stressed.

The club demands immediate punishment of the Benfica player and also accuses the athlete of breaking the door in the pavilion.

“We remember that at the end of the second game our fitness coach was also sent off after the match and served the punishment given to him in the next match,” they concluded.

Oliveirense and Benfica are tied on the number of matches in the series and will have to resort to a fifth game in Luz to decide the finalist. The winner will face the team that wins the other semi-final, also to be decided in black, between Porto and Sporting on Wednesday at the Dragao Stadium.

Read the statement in full:

“After the end of the fourth game of the championship semi-final and at a time when the athletes were already greeting each other and the refereeing team, our player Franco Platero became the object of an unspeakable and unacceptable attack from the goalkeeper. Benfica networks, Pedro Henriques, as clearly shown by the footage in the video.

União Desportiva Oliveirense regrets and rejects this behavior of the Benfica captain, an experienced player who could never show such an attitude on the track, especially when the game was already over.

As a professional player and captain, his behavior should be an example, above all, for future generations, and there were many young people who witnessed this sad episode that marred the end of the game.

Since the Portuguese Skating Federation is an organization that, like clubs and all sports agents, is guided by the values ​​of ethics and fair play, União Desportiva Oliveirense believes that brutal aggression against our player will not go unpunished and the aggressor will be punished immediately, as there are penalties , which cannot be postponed due to the seriousness of the act committed.

We remember that at the end of the second game our physical trainer was also sent off after the match and served his punishment in the next match, which we hope will happen this time with the Benfica goalkeeper.

After what happened on the track, in front of the fans who filled the Salvador Machado Stadium, Benfica goalkeeper Pedro Henriques, on the way to the locker room, left the door to one of the locker rooms of the pavilion with disrespect towards our club.

This is the truth of the facts and the images do not allow for any other interpretation of what really happened, unlike what some websites want to hide or try to distort reality.

With this in mind, we hope that the Zero Violence campaign, which the Portuguese Skating Federation joined and promoted, was not in vain.”