The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has dismissed most of a series of complaints brought by Porto and two of the club’s former officials concerning disciplinary sanctions imposed by the Portuguese football authorities.
Based in Strasbourg, the court examined several cases linked to comments published by media outlets owned by Porto, which criticised named referees and questioned the integrity of the country’s officiating system following matches involving, most notably, fierce rivals Benfica.
In its ruling, the ECHR rejected the club’s arguments in the majority of the cases, many of which centred on allegations of corruption and match-fixing within Portuguese football.
The court stated that claims of widespread wrongdoing could not be supported solely by refereeing mistakes or controversial decisions.
“Mere refereeing errors or irregularities, even if they are numerous or repeated over time, do not constitute, on their own, sufficient evidence of the existence of the scheme alleged by the applicants,” the judgment said.
It added that the accusations presented to the public were based on speculation rather than established facts, noting that the Portuguese courts had previously described the allegations as “conspiracy theories”.
However, the Strasbourg court ruled in favour of Porto over one specific case involving the club’s official newsletter, Dragões Diário. The publication had been sanctioned after criticising a video assistant referee following Benfica’s 4-1 victory over Feirense in 2019, describing the official as lacking impartiality and accusing him of continuing a “shameful path” after his refereeing career.
The ECHR concluded that those remarks fell within the boundaries of acceptable opinion in a sporting context.
According to the judgment, the comments represented value judgments about the referee’s performance rather than factual accusations, noting that strong criticism of match officials is common in football, where incidents are frequently interpreted differently depending on club loyalties.
The court also observed that referees working at the highest level of the game must accept a greater degree of public scrutiny than private individuals.
It therefore ruled that the sanctions imposed by the Portuguese authorities in relation to the newsletter breached Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects freedom of expression. Portugal was ordered to reimburse the €15,300 fine paid by the club and cover the related legal costs.
The ECHR, headquartered in Strasbourg, is responsible for hearing cases involving alleged breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights across its 46 member states.
