The president of the Professional Soccer Players Union (SJPF), Joaquim Evangelista, does not accept the “silence of clubs and sports entities” in cases such as the one that caused raids on the residence of the president of the League’s General Assembly, Mário Costa, in the framework of an investigation by the Immigration and Borders Service on suspicion of trafficking in human beings.
Admittedly “concerned” by the case, Evangelista defends in TSF that it is necessary to “denounce” those who take advantage of their position in soccer for “illegal practices, to earn money and do business.”
“These people are too many, these people are champions and, in fact, respecting the principle of innocence here, but if they are linked to football and if they take advantage of their position to do this type of business, they have to be severely sanctioned. That is not it is acceptable”, warns the union leader, challenging the football entities to pronounce themselves.
“What I also do not accept is that nobody in football is bothered by this. That’s not what sport is about. Pursuing an even better profession, but not in these conditions of opportunism, greed, commercialism, right? the silence of sports clubs and entities, always with the argument of the principle of innocence, to justice what justice is, to football what football is. Enough of hypocrisy, we must raise our voices in defense of young people and of a different society that we want for the future”, he appeals.
The union, reveals, has alerted the Government to the Secretary of State on the issue, guarantees Joaquim Evangelista, and “a working group has been created for this purpose in which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Social Security, Justice and the Federation participate” .
According to the leader of the SJPF, “there was a meeting and then nothing else happened”, leaving the main objective of the player’s representative body: to guarantee an “articulated response”.
“It was what we wanted, it was for there to be an articulation between public and private institutions, so that when young people ask us for help we know how to give them an answer and not be forced to find an answer on their own because they don’t have the conditions to do so”, the Mint.
In addition to Mário Costa’s house, a soccer academy was also raided in Riba D’Ave, Famalicão municipality, Braga district. In a statement, the SEF confirmed that “an operation was being carried out, in the Greater Porto area, to comply with various search warrants.”
“The SEF cannot, for now, advance any other type of information, since the process is in secret from justice. More details will be released over time. For this morning’s operation, the SEF committed a staff of 50 elements,” it reads. the statement of the SEF.
Bsports, which defines itself as “a high-performance academy”, also confirmed, in a statement, the records of its facilities in Riba d’Ave, clarifying that “in their field, it provided full collaboration with the competent authorities”. . , having also expressed total availability to provide any clarifications and information that may be requested within the framework of the ongoing process.”
“In strict respect for the secrecy of justice existing in the field of the ongoing investigation, Bsports will not, for the moment, make any further comment on this matter,” adds the note, in which the entity says it is “sure and confident in that an investigation will be carried out into the truth of the facts, which will show that no crime was committed by their representatives or collaborators and that only by mistake or slanderous denunciation could the contrary be thought.”
Source: TSF
