The presidents of the Portuguese Professional Football League (LPFP), Pedro Proença, and the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), Fernando Gomes, mourned this Thursday the death of former referee Carlos Valente, 77, due to illness.
“See you later, friend Carlos Valente. I join the family of Portuguese judges who, this Thursday, mourn the passing of one of their great names, one of their greatest heroes,” Pedro Proença wrote on social networks.
FPF President Fernando Gomes recalled that Carlos Valente was a worthy representative of Portuguese refereeing in international arenas and that he wore the FIFA insignia for almost ten years, being for many years the most famous Portuguese referee.
“It is with great sadness that I learned of the death of Carlos Valente, a former international referee who brought such prestige to Portuguese refereeing,” said FPF President Fernando Gomes, considering it a huge loss for Portuguese football.
The LPFP expressed condolences for the death of the former referee, recalling that Carlos Valente, who belonged to the Setúbal Football Association and attended two World Cups, officiated more than 200 official games during his career.
“To the bereaved family and all friends, the Portuguese League expresses its deepest condolences,” the organization said in a statement.
The President of the Arbitration Council of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), Jose Fontelas Gomes, also expressed sadness over the death of Carlos Valente, whom he called “a model of national and international arbitration.”
“[Carlos Valente] It was an example for young judges and marks an entire generation. He was present at two World Championships and, above all, is a standard. This is news that saddens us,” said José Fontelas Gomez.
Carlos Valente, who played for the national team from 1984 to 1992, was one of eight Portuguese referees at the World Cup: he officiated one game in Mexico in 1986 and two in Italy in 1990, repeating the achievements of Antonio Garrido (1978 and 1982), Saldanha Ribeiro (1970), Joaquim Campos (1958 and 1966) and Vieira da Costa (1954).
The referee from Setúbal made his World Cup debut in the Hungary-France (0-3) matches, in Mexico86, and four years later, in Italy90, he refereed Diego Maradona, a moment that he forever treasured as a privilege.
On 18 June 1990, Carlos Valente managed Argentina’s final game in Group B of the World Cup held in Italy against Romania (1–1), in which the South American team reached the final but lost to Germany.
“Refereeing against Maradona and then in Naples was interesting because Naples was Dieguito’s world. It was spectacular,” he recalled in an interview with the Lusa Carlos Valente agency.
After the presence of a referee from Setúbal in Italy in 1990, Portuguese refereeing was again represented at the World Cup by Vitor Pereira (1998 and 2002), Olegario Benquerenza (2010) and Pedro Proença (2014).
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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