“Judge Paula Lages Refused Excuse in Benfica Appeal Case: Lisbon Court of Appeal Decision”

Judge Paula Lages will judge an appeal by Benfica, which concerns the holding of two games behind closed doors. So far, nothing is out of the ordinary. But the magistrate is a member of Benfica and requested an excuse, something that was unanimously refused by the collective of the Lisbon Court of Appeal, which considered the request, revealed to CNN Portugal and confirmed Record. Benfica was sentenced by the Authority for the Prevention and Combat of Violence in Sport to pay a fine of 80 thousand euros and an accessory penalty of holding two games behind closed doors, for the use of pyrotechnic material by red supporters. Confronted with this decision, those responsible for Benfica appealed to the Lisbon Court of Appeal, and the case was assigned to Paula Lages. However, the magistrate apologized. This is because she has been a member of Benfica for 20 years with paid dues and is married to a judge, who is also a member of Clube da Luz and SAD shareholder. Both have red pass.

Understanding and praising Paula Lages’ request, given that it is a case that may be mediatic, the collective that analyzed the request considered that club affiliation cannot condition who has the responsibility of judging this type of process. Thus, considering that the circumstances of the same do not generate distrust about the impartiality of the judge – the same one who acquitted ‘Correio da Manhã’, CMTV and ‘Sábado’ for the dissemination of videos of the interrogations of Ricardo Salgado and José Sócrates in the Operation Marquês – the request was unanimously rejected.