FC Porto risks a six-point deduction after Portuguese soccer authorities presented the club with match-fixing charges.
Porto said in a statement late Monday that the Portuguese League had asked for a formal response to allegations it sought to bribe referees in two matches in the 2003-04 season. Porto won one of those games and drew the other on its way to clinching the championship under then coach Jose Mourinho.
The charges are taken from a lawsuit brought by Portugal’s public prosecutor against Porto chairman Jorge Pinto da Costa over alleged bribery. No date has been set for the trial. Pinto da Costa has denied the allegations.
Mourinho is not mentioned in the league charges nor in the lawsuit.
Porto has five days to reply to the charges brought by the league’s disciplinary committee, which is to rule on the case by the end of the month. An appeal by Porto against any conviction could carry the case beyond the end of the season, and it was not clear whether any points deduction would be deducted from this championship or the next.
Porto is the runaway league leader this season, holding a 16-point advantage over second-place Benfica and Guimaraes with six rounds left to play.
League officials could not be reached for comment. Porto said it had handed the case to its legal department.
Pinto da Costa could be suspended from professional soccer activities for up to two years if found guilty.