Duarte Gomes says he resigned as former National Technical Director of Arbitration after what he called an "absolutely irreparable breach of trust". Speaking to A Bola, he said he had been in a 12-year job plan and spent about a month trying every possible avenue before deciding his departure was the only possible solution.
The resignation and the split between fact and speculation
Gomes also said he was drawing a line between what he knows and what remains speculative. In his view, the decision was driven by factual concerns, while anything beyond that belongs to the authorities and any judicial process under secrecy.
The claims about appointments and the deleted message
The sharper part of the interview concerns alleged referee appointments that, Gomes said, were known 11 and 20 days in advance. He named Moreirense-Estrela da Amadora and Amadora/Famalicão as the matches involved, and said the appointments were later confirmed exactly as described.
He also said the episode began at the end of matchday 30, when a referee was told about appointments for matchday 31, 32 and 33. Gomes said he was shown a screenshot of an SMS that read "yes it is true" with emojis asking for silence, before being deleted shortly afterwards.
Estrela sit 8th after 7 matches with 10 points, and they have a 14-14 goal record across those games. Their recent league run has included two wins, two draws and one loss, so the allegations land against a side still in the middle of the table rather than a club already cut adrift.
Gomes did not present the claims as proven wrongdoing. He said the appointment timing looked highly improbable, but left the final judgement to the authorities. The interview now puts the arbitration council under pressure to answer the specific appointment claims tied to Moreirense-Estrela da Amadora and Amadora/Famalicão.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
