The match between Maia Lidador and Vila Futebol Clube, on Sunday, marked the debut of the referee exchange program of the Porto Football Association (AF Porto). In statements to TSFThe president of AF Porto, José Manuel Neves, welcomes the initiative and highlights the importance of the “crossing of cultures” in the overall performance of the referees.
“The idea is a bit of a crossroads of cultures, an idea and a better preparation of our referees, like what the Portuguese Football Federation does with some European federations,” José Neves begins by explaining, adding that “the referees learn other types of behavior on the part of fans and athletes and, therefore, they are better prepared globally.
On the other hand, the president of AF Porto highlights the Iberian collaboration as a way of “calling on a sport that lacks referees, for more young people to approach the cause of refereeing.”
Sunday’s match was refereed by Adán Rodríguez Delgado, Óscar Lista Rivera and Adrián González Rey, from the Galician Football Federation. The next team in the AF Porto 2023/24 Pro-National Elite Division that will have Spanish refereeing will be Leça, in November.
TO TSFJosé Neves also guarantees that on November 1 it will be Portugal’s turn to judge a match on Spanish territory.
Source: TSF
