FPF fines clubs, sanctions staff and opens cases against Durán and Fernando

After the final whistle at Estádio de São Miguel in the Azores, players and staff from Santa Clara and Benfica became involved in a confrontation pitchside. Referee Cláudio Pereira showed red cards to Benfica forward Jhon Durán, Santa Clara player Fernando Oliveira, Benfica general director Mário Branco, Benfica assistant Gonçalo Santos and Santa Clara assistant Tiago Pinto. Those five dismissals set several disciplinary cases in motion, but the FPF’s response has not followed one track; how it distinguishes the participants now matters to both clubs.

The distinction is procedural: the FPF has already imposed suspensions and fines on other participants, but opened disciplinary proceedings against Durán and Fernando without immediately suspending either player. Both cases remain under review, so neither has yet received a final decision.

Benfica had challenged Durán’s dismissal and asked the FPF to investigate the referee’s account.

The first decisions concerned people whose cases the FPF treated separately from the two players’ open proceedings. Benfica general director Mário Branco received a preventive suspension, which Record reported could last for up to 20 days; his disciplinary case was also designated urgent. The preventive suspension took effect while his case was handled as urgent.

Santa Clara assistant Tiago Pinto received a 15-day suspension and a €2,950 fine for language directed at the refereeing team after the match, according to A Bola, Record and CNN Portugal. Benfica assistant Gonçalo Santos received a one-match suspension.

The clubs were fined as well. Benfica must pay €4,080 for the post-match disturbance, while Santa Clara was fined €2,244 for the general altercation, A Bola and CNN Portugal reported. These club penalties concern the disturbance itself; the individual sanctions were tied to particular conduct by staff members.

The effect of the open proceedings was visible almost immediately on the pitch. On 29 October, Jhon Durán was named in Benfica’s squad for the League Cup tie against Gil Vicente, started and scored in a 4-1 victory.

The midfielder was available for the club’s away match against Marítimo on 1 November, O Jogo reported. Neither player had yet received a final ruling in the disciplinary proceedings arising from the confrontation.

The club fines do not account for every amount linked to the match. A Bola put Santa Clara’s total fines arising from the Benfica fixture at €6,625, combining penalties against the club with those imposed on staff and players. That is a broader tally than the €2,244 penalty for the general post-match altercation.

The newspaper’s breakdown included €670 over the ball-boys’ conduct and €561 for Santa Clara staff member Tiago Ribeiro damaging an advertising hoarding. It also listed €43 fines each for Pedro Pacheco, Guilherme Romão and João Vasconcelos after their second league yellow cards, and €71 for Emanuel Moreira after his fourth. Those individual amounts sit alongside the penalties for conduct in the aftermath, rather than being part of the club’s general-altercation fine alone.

There was a separate hoarding case at Benfica. CNN Portugal reported that Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni was fined €1,020 for kicking and damaging an advertising hoarding. The figures therefore cover several kinds of conduct and different people: the general disturbance, staff actions, ball-boys’ conduct, bookings and damage to advertising boards. A single headline total can conceal that mix.

The referee’s report said Fernando had provoked Durán, who replied with words the officials could not make out, but whose conduct contributed to the wider confrontation. Fernando said in a post-match interview that he saw it as part of the game and had not seen the red card; he was not responding to the later disciplinary allegation. It also described Durán’s behaviour as offensive or insulting language or gestures. Benfica said match images showed no aggression or provocation by its forward, challenging the report’s account of his role.

Luciano Gonçalves, president of the FPF Arbitration Council, said the officials believed Durán’s actions had provoked the opponents’ anger, although the referee was too far away to hear his words. Speaking to CNN Portugal, Gonçalves said the Disciplinary Council could question the referee and hear those involved; he also conceded the written explanation lacked clarity.

From my point of view, it could have been explained better. The way it was written certainly was not the clearest for everyone to understand.

The timing drew a separate challenge from Gil Vicente coach Luís Pinto. Speaking to SportTV after Durán played against his side, Pinto questioned whether his own player Espi would receive comparable treatment after a separate dismissal, and said he wanted to know if Espi could play the following week against Vitória.

Arouca said Durán’s open case resembled Gabriel Rukavina’s, and questioned why the FPF Disciplinary Council had applied the rules differently, Record reported. Rukavina had been sent off after a separate match and was later given a one-match suspension and a €281 fine. The Council’s decision followed a review of his defence and video footage, including material supplied by the television broadcaster. Its account of the incident said Rukavina had started a confrontation by pressing his head aggressively against an opponent after the final whistle. Rukavina denied that description, but the Council said the evidence did not undermine the referee’s account and confirmed the facts in the official documents.

After reviewing the defence presented and the evidence submitted, and after viewing the images, including those provided by the television broadcaster, this Disciplinary Council sees no indication that the enhanced evidentiary weight of the referee’s report has been undermined. It therefore confirms the facts described in the documents, with the disciplinary consequences set out in the regulations.

At São Miguel, Cláudio Pereira’s red cards made the confrontation visible; the next step is less public, inside the Disciplinary Council. The Council is expected to hear those involved and decide Durán’s and Fernando’s cases.

• The Council’s hearings and decisions, expected within 15 days of reports dated 29 October; no exact date was stated.
• The additional investigative steps ordered in Durán’s case, which must come before its final decision.
• Benfica’s home match against Alverca on 2 November, while the two proceedings remain open.