Portugal To Ban Football Matches On Election Days

Portugal to ban football matches on election days

The Portuguese government has informed the Portuguese Football League that matches must not be scheduled on election days

LISBON, Sept 14 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Sep, 2017 ) : The Portuguese government has informed the Portuguese Football League that matches must not be scheduled on election days, but the ban will only come into force after the October 1 local elections, local media reported on Thursday.

The league has scheduled four top-flight fixtures for October 1, when Portuguese voters will go to the polls to elect regional representatives, including municipal councilors and mayors. The four matches have kick-off times staggered between 4 pm and 8: 30 p.m.

local time and include one of the biggest fixtures on the calendar, Sporting Lisbon versus Porto. On Tuesday, the National Electoral Commission asked the league to postpone the fixtures, but the league, citing a heavy domestic Calendar and Champions League and Europa League obligations, said it had no room for manoeuvre.

The government has now drafted a bill preventing sports fixtures from being scheduled on polling days, according to the Diario de Noticias. However, there is not time to pass the bill before the coming elections.

Public figures, including former prime minister Pedro Passos Coelho, have dismissed the controversy, saying Portuguese voters are perfectly capable of voting and watching the football matches. But many say the clash is avoidable and unhelpful, fearing that it will hamper voter turnout.

This is the third time a clash has occurred, the football league having arranged fixtures that coincided with parliamentary elections in 2015 and presidential elections in 2016. But this is the most controversial, due to the high-profile nature of the Sporting-Porto match. APP/Xinhua/qzi/ahn