Benfica Lisbon and Vitoria Setubal have come under the scrutiny of the public prosecutor’s office, with the clubs accused of corruption and tax fraud. The Eagles have defended themselves in a statement.
Specifically, the “email case”, as it is known in Portugal, involves offenses between 2016 and 2019. The indictment alleges that former Benfica president Luis Filipe Vieira and legal advisor Paulo Goncalves siphoned off millions through the fictitious transfer of three Brazilian players. The public prosecutor is demanding €900,000 from Benfica for illegal profits and €1.6 million from Vitoria, which was not licensed after the 2019/20 season and was relegated to the third division as punishment.
In addition, a total of eleven defendants, including Vieira and Goncalves, are to be banned from exercising any sporting activity for one to five years if convicted. The presidency is currently held by former top player Rui Costa, who has been cleared of all charges. Rather, the 52-year-old was asked to testify against Benfica.
If the accusations are confirmed, Benfica could face severe penalties. Exclusion from all sporting competitions is on the table. If convicted, the club could be banned from competition for between three months and six years.
Benfica strikes back
Benfica has since responded to the allegations and issued an official statement. It reads:
“Sport Lisboa e Benfica and its lawyers will analyze in detail the accusation that was served to you today, which holds Benfica responsible for alleged acts attributed to the former president and a former advisor. They will issue a procedural statement in due course, but there is no doubt that Sport Lisboa e Benfica will defend itself without hesitation against all unfounded accusations (and from what has already been analyzed, they are unfounded), as well as against anything that may affect or have affected its rights and interests.”
38-time champions Benfica are in third place with 16 points after seven games in the current table, with arch-rivals Sporting leading them with 24 points from eight games ahead of FC Porto (21/8). Jan-Niklas Beste is also a German in the Benfica squad.
