Portuguese court acquits former Gaia mayor Eduardo Vítor Rodrigues over football match expenses

Court clears former municipal leadership

The Court of Vila Nova de Gaia on 4 September 2026 acquitted former mayor Eduardo Vítor Rodrigues of prevarication, embezzlement, and document forgery. The ruling also cleared former municipal vice president Patrocínio Azevedo, who was previously convicted in the Babel case, alongside the former secretary to the municipal presidency. The judicial panel declared the prosecution indictment against all three defendants entirely unfounded. The verdict had originally been scheduled for delivery on 7 July 2026 before being postponed to September. During the reading of the ruling, the presiding judge stated that the testimony of Rodrigues was corroborated by evidentiary elements demonstrating a formal municipal partnership with the football club FC Porto.

Judicial assessment of travel decisions

The trial focused on municipal authorizations covering travel and tickets for FC Porto matches in the UEFA Champions League. The court concluded that sending delegations abroad constituted political choices subject to public scrutiny by voters rather than criminal infractions. The presiding judge noted that while the spending decisions could be viewed as criticizable and morally censurable, they fell within the boundaries of executive discretion. The judges determined that Azevedo and the former secretary merely followed administrative directives from Rodrigues to process the delegation travel expenses without committing misconduct.

Prosecution arguments and penalty requests

The Public Prosecution argued that Rodrigues authorized municipal funds on two separate occasions, in 2015 and 2016, for trips abroad that were recreational rather than institutional. The prosecution asserted that these expenditures caused financial harm exceeding 15,800 euros to public municipal funds. During closing arguments on 23 June 2026, prosecutors requested a prison term between four and six years for Rodrigues. The prosecution also sought suspended prison sentences ranging from three to four years for both Azevedo and the former presidential secretary.

Political background and previous resignation

Rodrigues headed the municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia for the Socialist Party across a 12-year tenure from 2013 to 2025. He resigned from mayoral office in June 2025 after a court handed down a loss of mandate penalty for his personal use of a municipal electric vehicle. During the football match trial, Rodrigues assumed full responsibility for authorizing the trips, maintaining that the decisions were clear, public, and conducted within legal municipal competencies. The defense argued that the proceedings failed to prove any intent to inflict public harm or provide unlawful personal benefits to attendees.

Reactions to the acquittal

Following the verdict on 4 September 2026, Rodrigues expressed frustration with the decade-long judicial process despite the acquittal. He reiterated that attendees were individuals holding institutional functions who represented the municipality.

The Public Prosecution is the guarantor of legality, but sometimes it seems like a kind of hostile agent with hatred towards politicians. Neither do politicians deserve that, nor is it good for the Public Prosecution that this happens because, later, the truth is demonstrated, although the marks never leave the bodies of those who, like me, feel like a victim.

Rodrigues attributed the investigation to anonymous complaints generated by opposition to his policies in transport and investment across the Porto metropolitan area. He stated that the decade of suspicion had imposed heavy personal costs while he acted in good faith throughout his political career.