Benfica lawyer Joao Correia believes the decision to overturn Porto's exclusion from next season's Champions League is 'favourable' to the club he represents.
UEFA's appeals body announced today that the decision to exclude the Portuguese
champions from next season's Champions League would be overturned pending a new
hearing, after it was revealed that new evidence had come to light.
The case will now return to the UEFA's disciplinary committee - who took the
original decision to exclude Porto - to hear additional evidence from Benfica
and Guimaraes, two clubs who would seemingly stand to benefit from Porto's
non-participation.
Vitoria, who finished third in last season's Portuguese SuperLiga, will enter
the Champions League group stage should Porto be excluded, while fourth-placed
Benfica will be included in the qualifying round of Europe's elite competition
instead of playing in the UEFA Cup.
However, while the decision may seem to be a setback for the pair, Benfica
representative Correia was upbeat following the announcement.
'This decision is favourable to Benfica's pretensions,' he was quoted as
saying in Portuguese newspaper Record.
'The club should have been heard in the first hearing and they weren't.
'As we weren't asked, we didn't attend. The trial today goes back to where it
began.'
Vitoria's representative, Goncalo Lobo Xavier, was less positive as he
described the decision as 'neither a defeat nor a victory' for those
involved.
He also called on UEFA to end the matter quickly.
'This is very important because we have never played in the Champions
League,' he also told Record.
'It's not a defeat nor a victory. The appeals committee understood that the
decision was not properly founded because Benfica had not been heard.
'UEFA should not wait for the decision of the Justice Council. UEFA should
give their own decision and soon as the draw for the competition is getting
closer.'
A new hearing will be held next week where the two clubs, along with Porto and
the Portuguese federation, will give evidence.
The appeal process must be concluded by August 1 when the draw is made for the
Champions League third qualifying round.
