Bruno de Carvalho speaks about Slimani suspension at dinner organised by Sporting Foundation

Bruno de Carvaho took part in a charity dinner organised by the Sporting Foundation and the Capulana Association this weekend, hosted in the Aldeia dos Capuchos Hotel. Speaking about the event, the Alvalade president reaffirmed Sporting's commitment to helping those in need: "I was born in Mozambique and I am really happy with having the Sporting Foundation help institutions over there. It is really important for Sporting to understand the important mission we have not just in Portugal, but around the world too. We have to show that we are here to help, not just in terms of sports but also socially."

The Sporting boss also made the most of his time with gathered radio journalists to speak about the re-election of Fernando Gomes as president of the Portuguese Football Federation: "Yesterday I was clear. I see a lot of things I agree with in the mandate that was given today, especially those which touch on discipline and refereeing. That is something that Sporting has been pushing for. I am however saddened with seeing people such as Manuel Santos Serra carry on and I am worried about decisions which I think are a bit knee-jerk, such as the Slimani punishment and the vouchers issue nothing being followed up. Those decisions don't make sense."

Bruno de Carvalho also had a word to say about Vítor Pereira, former president of the Refereeing Council: "I worry, but we do not have the capacity to get people back on track. A lot of decisions which were taken were not good for Portuguese football. All that I am hoping for now is that Vítor Pereira, who finally stepped down, does not receive any awards. Referee nominations for matches made no sense at all and I do not want to see Vítor Pereira rewarded with a place at UEFA or the Refereeing Academy. Let's hope that he is moved away from football once and for all. Those who like true sport and transparency certainly will not miss him."

Decision in process against Islam Slimani

Slimani was absolved by the Portuguese Football Federation's (PFF) Disciplinary Council (DC) this Friday, for an alleged act of aggression towards Samaris in the Portuguese Cup.

The ruling reads: "It was not proven that the accused ran in the direction of Benfica's number 7 (Samaris), consciously hitting him with his right arm in the back of the head and knowing that he would be violating the regulations of the PFF and DC). A comparison with television images and statements from the referees does not allow for a conclusion beyond doubt that the incident was not witnessed by any of the refereeing team."

The DC ruled in favour of Sporting's augment that "the accused player was not running in the direction of Samaris, but in the direction of the ball, as the images show. The player knocks into Samaris because he, in understanding that the accused was approaching, moved to the side and opened his arms with the aim of stopping the accused and making an impact inevitable."

Further agreeing with the arguments put forwards by Sporting, the ruling quotes: "The accused ran with the intention of intercepting the ball, which was in the possession of the Benfica number 27, several metres away. Faced with the obstruction of Andreas Samaris, who opens his arms and moved sideways, the accused instinctively lifted up him arms and tries to turn his body, thereby knocking into the player."

Slimani's defence further adds: "The player never took his eyes off the ball and did not intend to hit the player Samaris. The impact between the two players was due to the speed that the accused was moving and the fact that Samaris put his body in his path at the last minute, making it impossible to avoid an impact."

Relative to the argument that referee Jorge Sousa did not see the incident, the Club defended: "it is not true that the incident occurred out of the view of the referee, who was following the ball, and the television images show that. The ball was virtually stopped at the feet of the Benfica number 21, Pizzi, at the time of the incident and the incident occurred no more than two metres to the left of the ball. The referee, who was 10 to 15 metres away and looking in that direction, could not have missed the incident."

Sporting Clube de Portugal statement regarding Islam Slimani

Bearing in mind that Islam Slimani could not be punished in the case that the complaint presented by SLB be accepted and with regards to the public statements made by the president of SLB, Sporting Clube de Portugal notes the follows:

1 - With the Justice Council (Conselho de Justiça) being the competent body in relation to issues emerging from the application of disciplinary procedures directly related to competitive sport, articles 293 and 295 n.º 2 a) of the League's Disciplinary Code and 248 n.º 7 of the Portuguese Football Federation's (PFF) Disciple Code apply, wherein the effect of suspension in this type of case (disciplinary decision to suspend a player for a serious infringement) are detailed. The Justice Council's regulations also state that appeals are "without prejudice to the terms of the disciplinary regulations" (art. 36).

2 - It is further noted, under the terms of art. 274 n.º 3 of the League's Disciplinary Code and 245 of the PFF's disciplinary Code, that disciplinary decisions allow for appeal that suspends such a sanction - as will be the case. To this end, the respective sanction will not be applied during the time in which the accused has the right to launch an appeal. This means that even if Sporting were to be notified of such a sanction on the eve of the match, the club would not be required to immediately appeal: the sanction is suspended for the time in which the accused has to appeal (being five days).

In summary:
- competency lies with the Justice Council
- appeal suspends the effects of the sanction
- the decision to apply a sanction is not applicable until after the period in which the accused can appeal
- Should the PFF Disciplinary Council, hypothetically, apply a sanction to Islam Slimani this week, this sanction would in no way affect the match against SLB.