Benavente revealed this Monday that he has informed the Football Association of Santarém (AFS) about the lack of players for Saturday’s game against Mação, which was lost 60-0 in the decision of the district championship futsal.
In a statement, The Benavente club noted that given the schedule change, it informed the AFS of the lack of available players and noted on the eve of the meeting that only three athletes would be fit for Saturday’s match, because they had gone unanswered.
The coach then asked the referee to encourage Mação, who was fighting to become champion, to play with only three athletes, something that is not up to the refereeing team, but to the free will of the opponents.
The club, which apologizes to the council and supporters, will not provide “further clarification” on the matter, with an investigation on the table, and thanked the players for getting through “this difficult situation” on Saturday, in a game where, they say, the vice president of AFS Jorge Heleno was present.
On Sunday, the AFS asked to withdraw the consequences of the “so serious” episode, considering Saturday “a very sad day for district football and for regional sports”, after Mação’s 60-0 victory against a team with only three out of five athletes who must start the competition to present themselves on the field.
For the AFS “there can be no reasons that would lead Benavente Futsal Clube to enter with only three athletes, two of them out of formation and with such passive behavior as witnessed by all those present in the pavilion”.
To become district champions, Mação had to beat Benavente and recover from a 33-goal difference with Vitória de Santarém.
Read Benavente’s full statement:
“The FASFC hereby clarifies the population about the events following the result of the match against Mação that took place on May 6.
On Tuesday, May 2, the AFS announced the change to the game schedule. The FASFC replied that same day that it would be difficult for them to attend due to a lack of players.
Following this theme, the FASFC questioned the AFS about the consequences of a non-appearance, to which the AFS replied by proposing the different amounts of the fines in Article 49.
At 11am on May 5, the FASFC sent an email to the AFS informing them that they only had 3 players available for the May 6 game. The FASFC never received an answer to this e-mail.
The FASFC showed up for the game with the 3 players as communicated to the AFS, and during the game the coach addressed the referee team with a request to allow the other team to play with only 3 players. This fact was denied by the arbitration team claiming that they had no authority to do so, leaving that decision to the discretion of the opposing team.
The AFS has informed us that there will be an investigation into the outcome of the game. Therefore, during this process, the FASFC is not allowed to give any further explanation about the lack of players in the squad and the reasons for their absence.
Much has been said on social networks and in the media, but not everything corresponds to the truth.
Many thanks to the 3 athletes who attended the competition and who went through this difficult situation witnessed in the pavilion by the Vice President of the AFS Mr. Jorge Heleno, who watched part of the match and let it run normally.
It remains to apologize to the people of Benavente for the fact that the good name of this country is associated with this whole situation.”
Source: DN
