Suspects of acts of intolerance against two fans of FC Porto on the territory of Estoril Praia have already been identified, an official source from the Office for the Prevention and Combating Violence in Sports (APCVD) confirmed to Lusa on Monday.
An APCVD source who contacted Lusa said the suspects had been identified in cooperation with the National Republican Guard (GNR) and an administrative offense filed for actions committed on Saturday during the Estoril Praia draw at the reception of the champion of FC Porto (1-1) of the seventh round I Portuguese Football League.
These are insults against a man with a child on his lap, both wearing FC Porto shirts, who were allegedly spat on when they were in the area of the bench intended for home fans, who can be punished with fines ranging from 1,000 up to 10,000 euros with a fine in the form of a ban on access to sports facilities.
The same source assured that after the incident and according to the APCVD, the father and child in the FC Porto jersey, who were victims of acts of intolerance, remained on the same bench, albeit with the need to move them a few meters away. protect your physical integrity. The child and the father continued like this in their club jerseys, greeted by the Estoril fans, who stood out and were outraged by the acts of intolerance that took place.
On Sunday, Estoril Praya expressed his regret over what had happened, condemning “any act of violence of any nature.”
“We deeply regret the situation that the daughter of a Porto fan found herself in at the António Coimbra da Mota stadium, we apologize to her and hope that she will never stop appreciating the true essence of sport. We condemn the attitude of those who cannot control their emotions and allow the provocative attitude of alleged football fans to become a deplorable moment of aggression that has no place in a football stadium,” the Cascais emblem said in a statement.
Estoril Praia concludes this note by saying that it is ready to “continue to cooperate with the competent authorities in search of adequate solutions that can prevent the recurrence of similar incidents at sports venues.”
Earlier, Secretary of State for Youth and Sports Joao Paulo Correia and President of the Portuguese Professional Football League (LPFP) Pedro Proenza denied the incident.
“This child and his father were the victims of unacceptable intolerance by a group of opposing fans. Such incidents cannot occur in our stadiums. We also cannot tolerate attempts to normalize intolerance in sports,” he responded. João Paulo Correia, via the social network Twitter.
In addition, the Secretary of State for Youth and Sports assured of action against offenders: “The Office for the Prevention and Control of Violence in Sports will act against the behavior of the fans concerned. We will continue to fight relentlessly.”
In response to Lusa’s question, the same APCVD source reported about 1,800 final non-appeal convictions and 560 active sports facility bans over the past three years.
In total, according to the National Sports Information Center, about 250 fans are currently denied access to sports facilities, 170 of which are following measures taken by the APCVD.
The LNFP President also asked for “joint reflection”, emphasizing that “no one” can be absent from this discussion.
“The scream of a terrified child clinging to the arms of his father in a football stadium should be enough to make us … STOP !!!,” Pedro Proenza wrote on Facebook.
The LPFP leader insisted on “firmly and forcefully rejecting all actions that constitute an attack on all those who build the spectacle that football should be” in the “moment of restoration” of the competition and in which he is intended to “bring families back to the sports scenes” .
“We must be relentless in defending these values, but we are sure that change begins in each of us, in thinking about what sport and citizenship are. These reflections will form an essential part of this path. and demand the means and conditions to make it effective,” Proenza stressed.
This is the second time in a week that both the Secretary of State for Youth and Sports and the LPFP President have regretted the incidents that happened to fans in League I stadiums.
Exactly one week ago, the child was forced to take off the Benfica jersey at the Famalican stadium, as he was with his father on the bench with most of the local fans.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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