So, if the worst happens and Boavista fold, this is where we'll discuss it. Chin up erwin, maybe I'll come and see Boavista's last game this Sunday rather than Rui Costa's.

I'm not casting judgement until I read tomorrow's papers, but it seems that Boavista are being kicked insanely hard whilst already being as far down as a club can possibly be financially.

Is that a Boavista trilby?

It may just be me but are Boavista being treated far more harshly than Porto?

They're being treated incredibly harshly. The ex-president of the club has got a 4 year ban, but what use is that to a man who has nothing to do with football any more? Meanwhile, his dad, who was the president before him and as bent as they come is shouting his mouth off.

The punishment only effects the fans of Boavista, the people responisble for this are laughing, in fact Pinto da Costa apparently gave a sarcasm filled news conference this afternoon laughing off Porto's 6 point deduction when they've already won the league by 14 points.

Only yesterday were Boavista being threatened with relegation for not paying their players this season, now this happens. They're f*cked, they say there's someone coming in to save the club, but the last time this happened it turned out to be some joker trying to get on TV for 15 minutes.

By the way, that's Manuel, the zen-like top-boy of Boavista's ultras.

ok, so that's two threads and I still dont know what's going on. Do I need to listen to the podcast ?

To be honest, we rarely talk about it on the podcast because there hasn't been much to tell. Porto and Boavista both accused of bribing referees in the 2003-4 season with money and prostitutes. The trial ran on and on, on Thursday there was a rumour in the press that the verdict and punishments would be announced this Monday but in true Portuguese style, they blinsided everybody and announced the decision yesterday afternoon.

The decision, in my opinion, is spectacularly harsh on Boavista and incredibly light on Porto. The Boavista presidents involved in the scandal are long gone, leaving the club in a terrible financial position. Although one of the ex-presidents has been punished, it really is meaningless as the guy is no longer involved in football and most likely never will be.

The people who suffer are the fans of Boavista and the members of their sports club (Boavista, like most portuguese clubs is an athletics/social club used by the local community) whilst the real crooks, the ex-presidents, get away more or less free. They have left Boavista completely in the red and it is beyond me how they can possibly pay this fine.

On the other hand Porto are laughing for committing more or less the same crime. Why in god's name are they not relegated too? And the punishment to Pinto da Coast is laughable, what does it matter if he can't sign a few contracts or sit on the bench at games?

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This ('Final Whistle') was all an off-shoot of the trial ('Golden Whistle') going through the criminal courts. This latest decision was made by the Liga's Disciplinary Commission (DC), which got all the facts from the criminal trial and made their own minds up. Most decisions are being appealed against to the Football Federation's Council of Justice ... which unfortunately, for Boavista especially, hardly ever upholds appeals.

The difference between the decisions against FC Porto and Boavista are, according to the DC, because the bribes allegedly offered by FC Porto had no concrete consequences on the pitch, whereas Boavista were deemed to have derived an advantage in similar circumstances.

It is a shitter that Boavista as a club has to suffer because of the irresponsibility of its (c*nting) ex-presidents, but it seems that them's the rules.

Boavista are almost certainly down, and I'm very sad to say, that will probably mean that they're also out, given their huge debts.

Woe.


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That's a piss poor excuse for not relegating Porto isn't it ? Do you get the feeling that even if Porto's shenanigans had 'material consequences' they would still have avoided the drop ? Boavista might even have been spared as the rank hypocrisy of the situation would have been even starker.

By the way - why would you need to bribe people with 'money and prostitutes' ? The cash would do me fine, thanks very much.

It was sort of a package deal. Ref from the north refs a match in Amadora, spends the night in Lisbon at a hotel with some ladies of the night arranged in advance by one of the Presidents in question and then heads home to the wife and kids the next day.

Plus, Pinto da Costa's younger but debatedly better half at the time was in that line of business (I'm 99.9% certain there is no allegedly required here.)

The Portuguese Football Federation and the Counsel of Justice are meeting at 3 o'clock this afternoon to decide whether the decision to relegate and fine Boavista will be upheld.

I've got a feeling they're going get away will a smaller fine and no relegation, based on UEFA's verdict that the league's knee-jerk decisions have no real legal weight behind them.

However, you can never be sure...

steveeeeeeeee wrote:

QUOTE:
On the other hand Porto are laughing for committing more or less the same crime. Why in god's name are they not relegated too?

Presumably because they've bought off the FA as well as the referees.

Christ, I hate that club.

The decision has been upheld, Boavista play in Division 2 next season and Pinto da Costa is suspended for 2 years.

Steveeeeeeee, is there any appeal from the CJ? Perhaps to the Sports Ministry or the national Olympic Committee?

Or is this the end of the road unless they want to risk taking it to the civil or administrative courts?

Surely it's the case that Porto aren't being punished enough, rather than Boavista too much? As far as I know they were Portugal's axis of evil, with Da Costa bribing refs, beating up journalists, local councillors etc. Boavista may have been junior partners but still benefited.

Nice to see Pete Burns is finding work in Portugal.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yBVB_m9dqU

Great spot Sharon. She was quite fit in the eighties:



But I've had the displeasure of seeing her in the street without her make-up on and it wasn't a pretty sight.

In relation to ursus' "What's going on now?", I don't have a clue, I'm completely lost. I asked a work colleague of mine this evening if he could clarify it and he said he was completely lost. Judging by Boavista being included in the draw for next season, I'm guessing they're going to get away with it for now. Portugal really is a joke of a country when it comes to making decisions about anythng, which goes some way to demonstrating how transparently corrupt it is.