Portuguese football and the Apito Dourado (Golden Whistle) Case.
The Apito Dourado judicial case over alegations of Corruption, Bribery and Influence, in Portugal brought down the long running scandal, involving Club Presidents, League Presidents, Official, referees and players agents.
Although people have been charged and some acquitted, these people are still in charge of football clubs and yet a few a few stories still arise of other games and new clubs and presidents bribing referees.
It all began in 2003 and that’s as early as it has been recorded.
Interestingly the first of a few recorded conversations goes back to 2003, when FC Porto’s president Joao Pinto da Costa (JPD) asks Journalist Tavares Teles to print a false story regarding Deco's possible Suspension for throwing a boot at a referee.
He can be heard asking the Journo to make out, Deco would consider pulling out of Euro 2004 due to being miss-treated by the league and his name dragged through the mud. In the hope the league would not punish him.
Conversations with JPD and the Journalist can be heard about how it will run, and then JPD with Deco to confirm he will go with it.
The first heard of match fixing was JPD, with the bribery of referees for the game vs Estrela da Amadora and the game vs Beira Mar in 2004.
The Offers of 'Fruits' to sleep with (prostitutes) in tapped telephone conversations can be heard mostly arranged by Antonio Araujo, a players agent working with JPD. Araujo can be heard arranging with JPD the request of the referee's who would then go to his office to finalize the match demands.
For the Beira Mar game, Araujo is heard calling the match referee, Augusto Duarte, to arrange the final detaisl over lunch the next day.
Also involved in some of this was Boavista president 'Major' Valentim Loureiro (whom was also the League President), and also the Boavista chairman and Valentim's son Joao Loureiro.
in one conversation Joao Loureiro is heard calling the a person (non recognizable but with influence over the match referee) to make sure that the ref would give it all Boavista's way, in exchange they could do whatever they wanted.
-In other conversations between VL and JPD can be heard discussing the punishment of Liedson for elbowing Jorge Costa in a match between Sporting and Porto.
-On another two JPD can be heard with the referee’s selector, picking referee’s for a cup match and also dismissing 3 referees for a semi final match to get his favoured man’
-In an different unrelated premier match VL calls a retired referee to accuse him of influencing a decision on a third division match involving the constituency he governs.
In the Apito Final (Final Whistle), there have been four high profile people actually charged.
Pinto da Costa was punished by the league with a 2 years suspended Sentence
Joao Loureiro was Punished with 4 years suspended sentence
Valentim Loureiro punishment was a 3 year suspended jail term for abuse of power
The five referees involved and the league officials also involved were all suspended.
FC Porto had 6 points deducted but still went on to win the league, Boavista were relegated to Liga de Honra.
Recently Benfica’s president has been accused of also picking referees for a cup game in 03/04 cup semi final, but never charged.
So that was the last we hear of Apito Dourado... or was it?
This season Luis Felipe Vieira has accused referees of being bias against Benfica in the early part of the season, Could this be another form of bribery? Pay refs to throw games of your closest rival?
The Benfica president has also been accused by many as the man to ruin Alverca, after irregularities in the Mantorras deal to Benfica, when he was Alverca president.
In a society where all league official phones seemed to be bugged by the police as early as 2003, and with charges being brought in 2008, it seems a long time to charge someone with all the evidence pointing at them. Even when the people involved are still working in football, despite being charged, does not seem like justice or a fresh start to a corrupted league.
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