This Friday, Benfica published the results of the forensic examination, emphasizing that it “did not discover any situation or feature in which SAD was directly harmed by any of its representatives.”
Read Benfica’s statement:
“Dear Benfica fans,
Sport Lisboa e Benfica – Futebol SAD (Benfica SAD), in accordance with the commitment made by President Rui Costa to the Benfica fans, also informs the members of Sport Lisboa e Benfica about the contents of the summary report containing the conclusions of the forensic examination carried out.
In order to protect the interests of Benfica SAD, shortly after it became aware of the suspicions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (OP) in the context of the process commonly referred to as the “Red Card”, the administration requested an independent consultant with recognized competence (in particular EY) to conduct a judicial review medical examination based on the deputy’s suspicions, which focused on the recruitment process of several players, with the suspicion that Benfica SAD might have suffered harm.
In this sense, Benfica SAD gave EY full autonomy to prepare the aforementioned audit and cooperated in everything that was requested, with a total of 51 transactions analyzed in all their aspects, corresponding to the body of contracts that would somehow be reviewed by the MP. , suspicious.
The time spent was what EY considered necessary given the complexity of the analysis in question and everything that was analysed, the large number of elements analyzed and the time span of the said analysis (about 14 years) as can be proven in the report mentioned above.
In terms of the audit findings, what essentially stands out is that EY states that “it has not identified any situation or feature in which SAD was directly harmed by any of its representatives.”
To facilitate understanding of the Report, management asked EY to also prepare a memorandum summarizing the findings of the work, which was also published.
In accordance with the public commitment, a copy of the report has already been sent to the prosecutor’s office as part of the above-mentioned process, which is still under investigation.
It should be added that the administration will not fail to ensure the uncompromising protection of the interests of Benfica SAD in everything that turns out to be necessary, striving to always guide its behavior in accordance with the law and best practices.
Benfica SAD Administration
Lisbon, June 14, 2024″