The Council of Justice announced the outcome of the Benfica protest in last game against Sporting, where Taynan invaded the court as a substitute during the second half.
In a report, the organization explained the decisions leading to the rejection and referenced the third point of Law 12, stating: “The sanction of expulsion, provided for entering the playing surface to interfere with the game, when the infraction is committed by an official member of the team, is not applicable to substitute, substituted, and expelled players.“
According to the report: “A substitute or substituted player must be sent off when preventing the opposing team from scoring a goal or canceling out a clear scoring opportunity through a handball infraction or by deliberately moving or causing the goal to fall, thereby preventing the ball from going beyond the goal line. This also applies if the player prevents a goal or cancels out a clear scoring opportunity for the opposing team when the general movement is towards the offender’s second goal, committing an infraction subject to a free kick if the defending goalkeeper is not defending their goal.“
“The refereeing team of the protested game did not make any relevant refereeing errors for the purposes of the validity of the game protest. Therefore, all that remains is to consider the claim of the protesting club as unfounded,” they added.
