This Monday, Benfica accused the CNID – the Association of Sports Journalists – of carrying out a “sad practice of discrimination and harassment” against the Reds’ German coach Roger Schmidt, who questioned the journalist’s club preferences.
“CNID suffered sad discrimination and harassment against Benfica coach Roger Schmidt,” the Eagles said in a statement.
According to the club, the coach “has been systematically harassed and disdained by commentators and journalists for months” without the CNID “expressing a single word of concern about the behavior of the class he represents.”
Benfica faces “differential treatment by the CNID” and points the finger at “many other coaches and clubs” who “are threatening and disrespectful towards media professionals”, blaming association president Manuel Queiroz. , denigrating the club.
Roger Schmidt asked a journalist about his club preferences in response to a question addressed to him at a press conference following the home derby win over Sporting (2-1) in the 11th round of the Portuguese First Football League on Sunday.
In a statement published this Monday, the management of the CNID recalls that the question asked at the press conference after the game was “very trivial”: in this case, would the result be better than the game, to which Schmidt responded by “asking whether the result would be better than the game.” journalist, he was from Sporting or Porto.
“Roger Schmidt knows from years of experience that journalists come to press conferences to ask questions. In Portugal, Germany, Austria or China,” notes the CNID.
According to the association, the German coach “has taken a regrettable position and must publicly apologize” because “journalists do not serve the clubs, but the public.”
The Union of Journalists (SJ) also refuted these claims in a note entitled “The freedom to ask questions has no cudgel.”
“The coach’s statements are unacceptable in a country where freedom to ask questions must be respected and guaranteed. Roger Schmidt’s position is unacceptable in a country where freedom of the press is a fundamental guarantee,” the text reads.
SJ “regrets that journalists are once again being scapegoated to avoid legitimate problems,” recalling the constitutional foundations of freedom of the press in Article 38 and calling on media management to “actively respond to this kind of attitude.” “
Having inflicted their first defeat on Sporting, Benfica took the lead with the same 28 points as the second-place Lions and three more than Porto.
Author: Lusa
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.