26 Portimonense players accused of betting on own defeat
The FPF Disciplinary Council has instituted proceedings against 26 Portimonense SC footballers for illegal sports betting. Penalties range from fines to suspensions of up to three years.
Illegal betting case rocks Portimonense SC
The Disciplinary Council of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) has proceeded with disciplinary proceedings against 26 players from Portimonense SC, accused of conducting illegal sports betting on official matches during the last season in the Portuguese Championship — a competition in which the Algarve club participated before being relegated to district competitions.
According to Correio da Manhã, which had access to the accusation, 13 of the 26 footballers bet on their own team's defeat. Three others placed bets on Portimonense SC matches without involving the club's result, and 20 bet on matches related to the Portuguese Championship. The process originated from an anonymous tip, and the accused had until Monday to present their defence.
Under article 142 of the FPF Disciplinary Regulations, players involved in betting on the competition or on matches in which they participated directly face penalties ranging from pecuniary fines and suspension between six months and three years.
Nuno Pereira, from 'Big Brother', among the accused
One of the most high-profile cases is that of Nuno Pereira, currently a competitor on the television programme 'Big Brother Verão', who represented Portimonense SC in the past season. According to the accusation, Pereira placed 1,536 bets in 2025/26, of which 195 were on Portuguese Championship matches and 22 involved his own team — 18 of them betting on the club's defeat, including matches in which he started.
Goalkeeper Rodrigo Carvalho also appears with significant numbers: 915 bets in total, 211 in the Portuguese Championship, 32 involving Portimonense SC and 20 bet on the defeat of his own club.
Completing the group of 13 players who bet on defeats of the Algarve club are: Guilherme Costa, Miguel Costa, Rodrigo Silva, Tiago Reis, Tomás Cintra, Afonso Loja, Alexandre Pimenta, Daniel Almeida, Daniel Cunha, Gonçalo Correia and Gonçalo Gonçalves.
Club suspends players and repudiates the facts
Portimonense SC responded to the case with an official statement, expressing "its deepest displeasure, sadness and total repudiation regarding the recent confirmation of facts that report serious violation of sports regulations by athletes of the senior football squad from the 2025/2026 season". The club further decided to "preventively suspend the players involved until full clarification of the process".
Case handed to the Public Prosecutor's Office
The situation was communicated to the Public Prosecutor's Office (PGR), which is to conduct an investigation to establish whether there was result manipulation in the bets placed on the Portuguese Championship and against the club itself.
From a criminal standpoint, the Legal Regime for Sports Integrity and Combat Against Unsporting Behaviour provides for severe sanctions. Article 20, relating to fraudulent sports betting, sets a penalty of imprisonment of up to five years or a fine. Article 21, which covers unsporting bets, establishes a penalty of imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 360 days.
Source: Correio da Manhã