Pedro Guerra, a sports commentator, said this Thursday in the Bolhao court in Porto that the trial in which he is accused of libel and insulting the organization “is pure harassment on the part of FC Porto”. The prosecutor’s office requires the conviction of the accused.
This refers to the comments on TVI24’s Prolongamento program in 2018, in which Pedro Guerra said that Porto knew in advance about the appointments of the referees regarding the replacement of Fabio Verissimo with Carlos Xistra in the game between B SAD and Porto. – at the time of comment, it has not yet been announced that the reason for the substitution was the death of a family member of the first judge. “It’s true, I made a mistake, but I think it’s acceptable,” Pedro Guerra told the court, ensuring that “the focus [do comentário] was the Arbitration Board. He also added that “everyone knows that there is a quid pro quo between Porto and referee Fabio Verissimo.” , he said, adding that the club had “launched a campaign” against him to “discredit”.
In the final charges, the public ministry demanded that the sportscaster be convicted, believing that his behavior in relation to the facts in question “exceeds freedom of expression” and “aims to arouse suspicion.” The lawyer pointed out that the defendant “did not commit any crime.”