The Portuguese Players Union (SJPF) alerted to financial control of the clubs in professional competitions, held on 15 April.

In a press conference, the SJPF President, Joaquim Evangelista, asked the players to not signs documents that are not in accordance with reality in particular saying that the salary is paid when it is not.

“The players have in the financial control an opportunity to exercise their rights and demand the payment of their salaries. In doing so, they ensure the present and future existence of conditions to sport practice in Portugal”, he said.

The SJPF President understands the economic difficulties of clubs but, from his point of view, is not fare use this argument because before started competition they already knowh that. Specially those clubs who use and abuse of this argument.

Joaquim Evangelista criticizes, above all, the rules of the League, which inverts the burden of proof, when accepted as proof of payment of salary a player statement. “The payment of salaries is an obligation of the club and should be the club to make the proof of payment.”

“The Union condemns this mechanism, the ‘declarations signed by the players’. The regularization of salary in this way is unacceptable and unsustainable. The salary has constitutional value, has a social function for the worker and that’s why the state provides him monthly payment. We will started a legal action because we understand that there is a violation of a constitutional and legal right of the players”, said the President of the Union.

Evangelista reiterated that “while this mechanism to subsist, the financial control is a lie. In parallel, we will ask to the parliamentary groups to change the law in order to give to the Financial Audit Commission more powers in this area.”