Benfica issued a statement condemning the Portuguese Basketball Federation’s Disciplinary Board’s decision to replace Travante’s suspension with a reprimand, meaning the Sporting player could play in the derby this Sunday.
The Eagles are compared to what happened to Ivan Almeida and say: “This shows the defense of the club, Sporting, and the clear persecution of the other, Sport Lisbon and Benfica.”
“Two cases, two players, two clubs and two opposite decisions: Travante Williams attacked a law enforcement officer and was sent off, but will play today. [domingo] with Benfica; Ivan Almeida was accused of attempting to attack the referee, which later turned out to be false, but was disqualified for a month! It is incomprehensible and unacceptable,” the message says.
And he continues: “The mission of the Disciplinary Board and its chairman is not to show their “clubness” and repeated hostility to Benfica, but to guarantee fairness and respect for all clubs and athletes.”
Benfica press release
Sport Lisboa e Benfica expresses its surprise and vehemently condemns the partial and wholly biased decision of the Portuguese Basketball Federation’s Disciplinary Board regarding the aggression against Sporting’s representative Travante Williams.
Let us then remember that in the face of a much less clear and serious situation, supported by a report with numerous inconsistencies, which was later confirmed by the testimony of the authorities, the same Federation Disciplinary Council decided to preventively suspend Benfica. athlete Ivan Almeida for 30 days. A month until the competition!
In the case of the Sporting athlete, despite the proven and undeniable aggression of Travante Williams against the representative of the authorities, the same Disciplinary Board and its chairman, Carlos Filipe, managed to find arguments justifying not only the athlete’s lack of responsibility, but also the reduction of the expulsion fine !!!
We are facing the clear defense of one club, Sporting CP, and the clear persecution of another, Sport Lisbon and Benfica.
Two cases, two players, two clubs and two opposite decisions: Travante Williams attacked a law enforcement officer and was sent off, but will play today [domingo] with Benfica; Ivan Almeida was accused of attempting to attack the referee, which later turned out to be false, but was disqualified for a month! It is incomprehensible and unacceptable.
The task of the Disciplinary Board and its chairman is not to show their “clubness” and repeated hostility towards Benfica, but to guarantee fairness and respect for all clubs and athletes.
Therefore, this is a regrettable and reprehensible decision, contrary to all the principles of fairness and trust that are meant for basketball in Portugal.
PS: Contrary to what is written in the decision of the Disciplinary Board, the representative of the authorities, who suffered from aggression, did not willingly accept any excuses. Previously, he courageously, resisting many pressures, filed a complaint against the Sporting athlete, supported by the PSP Union.
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Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.