Benfica virus outbreak: Could Porto clash be postponed?

The viral outbreak affecting Benfica’s squad and technical team has impacted preparations for the Clássico against Porto , scheduled for Sunday at 9:15 pm at Estádio do Dragão. Despite this, the League’s regulations only allow the postponement of the match in very specific situations.

Thus, a game can only be postponed if a club does not have 13 players available , including at least one goalkeeper. In cases of contagious diseases, such as viral infections, the inability to play must be certified by a doctor from the National Health Service.

The club doctor can certify injuries or illnesses, but this must be confirmed by a doctor from the SNS . The final decision to postpone lies with the President of Liga Portugal and an Executive Director. If rescheduled, the match must take place between 5 and 15 days after the squad is deemed fit again , and cannot go beyond the weekend following the last round of the competition.

Despite this framework, according to gathered information, the Eagles are not considering requesting a postponement of the match, remaining focused on recovering the players in time for the trip to Dragão. Here is what the regulation states in full:

"Without prejudice to the provisions of the previous article, a match must be postponed whenever a club does not, demonstrably, have a minimum of 13 players (of which at least one must be a goalkeeper) fit to play. The inability to play must be certified up to the start of the match by the following entities or persons: a) Directorate-General of Health, in the case of a positive SARS-CoV-2 test and/or prophylactic isolation of squad players; b) doctor from the National Health Service, in the case of an outbreak of another contagious, viral, or bacterial disease that determines inability to play; c) club doctor, in the case of injury or illness from other causes, to be confirmed by an SNS doctor in a signed certificate with their stamp, delivered to Liga Portugal within 24 hours; d) Liga Portugal, through the player’s disciplinary sanction record, in the case of serving a suspension," as explicitly stated in the competition regulations, which also specify that only a doctor is competent to postpone the match.

The decision is in the hands of the President of Liga Portugal and an Executive Director: "The decision to postpone is the responsibility of the President of Liga Portugal and an Executive Director. The postponed match under this regime will be rescheduled for a date to be agreed upon by the clubs within two working days following the original match date or, failing that, under the terms of paragraph 2 of article 44. In any case, the rescheduling of the match: a) must comply with the requirements of paragraph 5 of article 44; b) must take place within the period between the 5th and 15th days, counted from the end of the general inability of the squad; c) cannot be scheduled for a date later than the weekend following the official date of the last round of the championships organized by Liga Portugal."

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.