The Public Prosecution Service of Portugal suspects Benfica of bribing former referee Bruno Paixão, various Portuguese media report. Benfica may have paid thousands of euros in bribes through a shadowy construction to the arbitrator, who was active in the Portuguese league between 2006 and 2018. If proven, Benfica could be moved back a division.
Benfica is said to have set up a construction with the computer company ‘Best for Business’ as an intermediate partner. That company is said to have purchased consultancy services for 1.9 million euros, but research has shown that those services were never provided. It would be Benfica’s way of funneling money away, to make money available from the computer company for ‘undocumented matters’.
Thousands of euros were transferred from the computer company to Bruno Paixão. The retired arbitrator confesses in a statement to TVI received money from that company and that it was purely for ‘a quality control service’ to the company. The Public Prosecution Service does not believe that. Moreover, the computer company does not have the size to provide services for 1.9 million euros. The Public Prosecution Service has indications that there is sporting corruption: match fixing.
The former referee involved says in his statement that he has not heard anything from the judiciary about suspicions of match fixing. The Public Prosecution Service will investigate the Saco Azul (Blue Bag) is mentioned, merging with another ongoing investigation into Benfica. In that case, suspicious emails between senior officials of Benfica and the arbitration corps were discovered.
Benfica itself denies all allegations of corruption in a statement: “The club has never been confronted with allegations of this nature, even in conjunction with the name Bruno Paixão.” Next Wednesday, the team from Lisbon will play at home against Ajax in the eighth final of the Champions League. Two weeks later, the return will follow in the Johan Cruijff ArenA.