Benfica handed closed-door match and €150,000 fine for fan pyrotechnics, club calls sanction disproportionate
The Portuguese football club has exhausted all appeals against a sanction from the APCVD, confirmed by the Court of Appeal, for incidents during five matches in the 2022/23 season.
Benfica has been ordered to play one official match behind closed doors and fined €150,000 after the Portuguese Authority for the Prevention and Combat of Violence in Sport (APCVD) sanctioned the club for the use of pyrotechnic devices by its supporters. The incidents occurred during five matches in the 2022/23 season. The Court of Appeal in Lisbon confirmed the decision, which is now final and cannot be appealed further.
- Pyrotechnic devices used by fans in five Benfica matches
- Benfica notified of final sanction: one match behind closed doors and €150,000 fine
- Sanction to be served in home match against Académico de Viseu
Benfica's response
The club, led by president Rui Costa, issued a statement on Thursday saying it had exhausted all legal avenues. Benfica argued it had implemented every reasonable measure to prevent pyrotechnics from entering the Estádio da Luz, including strict searches at entry points, reinforced security mechanisms, and repeated warnings to fans before and during matches.
Closing an entire stadium is, besides being unjust in its origin, a manifestly disproportionate measure that harms the sport, penalises the club, and prejudices tens of thousands of compliant members and fans who are completely unrelated to the behaviours in question.
The club said it would have preferred a sanction limited to the sectors where the pyrotechnics were used, similar to the approach taken by UEFA in European competitions.
Precedent and double standards
Benfica expressed deep concern over what it called a serious precedent, claiming that similar incidents at other stadiums involving other clubs and fans had not led to equivalent consequences.
Benfica is the only target of a sanction of this nature, which we find very strange.
The club pledged to continue all efforts to prevent pyrotechnics and ensure the highest safety standards at its events.
The match to be served
The closed-door sanction will be applied in the home fixture against newly promoted Académico de Viseu, scheduled for the weekend of 8 and 9 August, the opening round of the Liga Portugal season.
