Estoril Praia calls for “forceful” action in the face of what happened in Chavez

Estoril Praia confirmed on Tuesday its position of “taking legal measures” to challenge the 30th round game of the I Football League played in Chavez on Sunday and demanded that “forceful” measures be taken against the perpetrators.

“Some of our players are receiving very serious messages. Messages that have already been disclosed. [às autoridades competentes], as Estoril will no longer allow attacks on its players. We will take legal action against anyone who attacks our players, no matter where the attack comes from. I leave one demand for Portuguese football: this episode cannot be repeated. We all need to be much more decisive in the face of these actions and leave no doubt about who is the aggressor and who is being attacked,” said Estoril SAD President Ignacio Beristain.

The person in charge of Estoril’s administration appeared at a press conference, accompanied by the entire team and staff, and asked questions that he considered relevant to the analysis of the decision taken by referee Nuno Almeida to continue the game after a pitch invasion, which led to clashes between Desportivo de Sportivo fans Chavez and Estoril Praia players in the final part of the match.

“What would have happened if one of these cattle had jumped out onto the field and was holding a knife? And I ask: what if other Estoril players had been attacked? They would have had to defend in self-defense and would have been sent off, leaving Estoril without enough players to finish the game. Would Estoril have lost the game? And what would happen if the referee and league delegate were attacked?

In Chavez, a pitch invasion during stoppage time led to disrespect and aggression between Flavian fans and Estoril Praia players, with goalkeeper Marcelo Carne and defender Pedro Alvaro sent off with a straight red card.

After a 20-minute break, the game resumed, and the home team scored a goal in the 90+20 minutes with the score 2:2, when striker Joao Carlos defended the goal of Estoril Praia due to the removal of goalkeepers and at the same time when the Canarinho emblem had already run out of replacements.

Faced with this situation, SAD president Estoril Praia expressed disbelief in referee Nuno Almeida’s decision to restart the match, saying that Canarinhos’ position to immediately stop the match had been submitted to the referee, but without his consent.

“There were no conditions for the continuation of the game. The most important person on our staff, coach [Vasco Seabra] And a representative of our team told the judge that there were no conditions, they were taking risks when they entered the field. This was expressed, our position was expressed to the match referee. Obviously, he did not pay attention to what the people in charge in Estoril were saying at the time,” Beristain said.

Ignacio Beristain also announced that, in addition to asking to challenge the game for 30th place in the I League, the Cascais Line emblem will appeal the exclusion of Marcelo Carne and Pedro Alvaro, demanding the decriminalization of the two players.

“There was no provocation. Besides losing points in Chaves, we could also lose important players for the rest of the championship. We have already planned our defense, as we believe that our players, in this moment of confusion and panic, reacted the way they did only in self-defense,” defended the SAD leader.

The director demanded “strong” measures and a position from those responsible for Portuguese football, especially from the president of the Portuguese Professional Football League, Pedro Proença.

“Pedro Proença and Portuguese football must decide what position they will take on these episodes, and when and how they will make a decision. This is not just a problem for Estoril, this is a very serious episode for Portuguese football,” he concluded.