Porto chief charged over referees investigation - reports
 

LISBON, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The chairman of European champions Porto was charged on Tuesday with five crimes stemming from an investigation into alleged attempts to influence referees, Portuguese media reported.

A judge charged Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa with two counts of active sports corruption, two of influence-trafficking and one of qualified falsification of documents, Lusa news agency, SIC television and RTP state TV reported.

Pinto da Costa was questioned for 12 hours at a courthouse in Gondomar, a Porto suburb about 300 km (200 miles) north of Lisbon. He left shortly before the end of Porto's 2-1 victory over Chelsea in Champions League Group H, which secured their place in the competition's knockout stages.

Pinto da Costa must pay bail of 125,000 euros and report periodically to police. He must remain in the Porto area and is barred from contact with other suspects and football officials, the reports said.

Pinto da Costa will be free, however, to travel to Japan for Porto's World Club Cup match on Sunday against Colombia's Once Caldas.

He is the highest-level suspect in the police investigation into alleged soccer corruption, dubbed "Golden Whistle". Porto won the Champions League title in May and lead Portugal's Premier League.

Police launched the investigation in April, focusing on the Porto area. At the time, Valentim Loureiro, league chairman and mayor of Gondomar, was named as a suspect in 23 cases.

LISBON (AFP) - The president of European champions FC Porto was released from a court in Portugal which questioned him for nearly ten hours as part of a probe into alleged sports corruption after he agreed to pay 125,00 euros (167,000 dollars) in bail.

A spokeswoman for the court in Gondomar, an industrial town just east of Oporto, told reporters Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa stands accused of two counts of sports corruption, two counts of influence trafficking involving referees and one count of falsifying documents.


Police summoned the Porto president to appear in court last week after they carried out searches of his home and the club's headquarters as part of a follow-up to "Operation Golden Whistle", an investigation into alleged sports corruption launched in April.


He voluntarily appeared at the courthouse on Friday where he was informed that he had been placed under judicial investigation for alleged sports corruption, but was not questioned that day.


No formal charges have been brought against Pinto da Costa, 66, who has headed the club for more than two decades and is one of the most influential figures in Portuguese football.


Under his leadership, Porto has won two European championships, in 1987 and last season, as well as seven of the last 10 Portuguese league titles.


A conviction for sports corruption by a president of a club carries a maximum jail sentence of four years according to Portuguese law.


Last week the court in Gondomar quizzed five other men - four referees and a player agent - who were detained by police as part of their probe.


Among those who were detained was businessman Antonio Araujo, 43, who was involved in Porto's signing of several players, including Brazilian playmaker Diego who signed with the club in July in a deal worth seven million euros.


In April police detained 16 people, including the president of the Portuguese Professional Football League, Valentim Loureiro, and the head of the football referees' council, Antonio Pinto de Sousa.


Loureiro is accused of 23 crimes, including four counts of influence trafficking, while Pinto de Sousa is accused of 21 crimes.


Both men have since had their mandates suspended.


The magistrate who questioned Pinto da Costa on Tuesday barred the Porto president from speaking to a number of the other accused in the case, including Loureiro and Araujo.


Police launched "Operation Golden Whistle" after a 15-month investigation, involving wiretaps of telephone calls, which police said had uncovered strong indications of sports corruption and influence trafficking involving referees.


Shares in FC Porto dropped nearly 3.5 percent on Tuesday to close at 2.52 euros, their lowest level in nearly two years amidst news reports that Pinto da Costa was to be formally accused of sports corruption by the court.

Well i think I speak for every Porto fan when I say that whatever happens im with Pinto da Costa all the way

but u have to agree that he is corrupt

:laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh
:cool im so happy cause now the portuguese foot is starting to be fair,Pinto da Costa is finish,i hope that he pays 4all the corrup things he made,his not difrent from vale e azevedo:nono

innocent until proven guilty...

Pinto Da Costa owns the freakin Courts and everything else.

Pinto Da Costa aka The Godfather

amen everybody know that only Portistas resufe to see the true

dammit, i hate pinto da costa... i wish that his " dragon balls" fall down:salute