Lisbon Court of Appeal confirms Gidson Fernandez in appeal of former MPs – Benfica

On Friday, the Lisbon Court of Appeal gave grounds to Gidson Fernandez in the dispute with the former representatives of the footballer, in their appeal to a preliminary decision that was already unfavorable to them.

“Under the conditions set forth above, they agree to dismiss the appeal and, as a result, fully confirm the appealed judgment,” says the court, which also imposes costs of the process on the appellants.

Positionumber, Unipessoal, Lda and MRP Positionumber, Limited, controlled by businessmen Luís Miguel Pinho and Miguel Ruben Pinho, who represented the athlete early in his career, starting when he was still a minor, demanded a range of compensation, totaling 407,616 . 03 euros, which the court found was not owed to them.

In the first case, Gedson Fernandez was ordered to pay only €15,000, plus 4% default interest.

“Defendant Gedson Carvalho Fernandez was relieved of all other requests made by plaintiff ‘Positionumber, Lda’,” who was sentenced by Lores Central Civil Court at the time.

After this ruling, the athlete lodged a complaint with the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) Mediators Committee for the fact that MRP Positionumber is represented by him and Benfica at the same time, a situation in violation of Portuguese law and sports regulations.

The court noted that “the plaintiff, as a representative of Benfica prevailed in the sports work contract and its amendments, will always act in a conflict of interest.”

Among other values, the company, which represented him between 2016 and 2018, wanted to be compensated for representation costs of about 230 thousand euros, 54 thousand euros from the luxury car it gave to the footballer, and another for breach of the promised contract. Buying the same thing, which he used between April 2018 and March 2019, and an alleged loan of around €32,000.

“The court recognizes that these clauses are clearly excessive, unjustified, disproportionate and constitute part of usury,” the ruling read.

Moreover, the term “usury” has been referred to by the courts several times, namely in the “criminal requirement of €500,000 for breaching the duty to report claims related to the use of a vehicle worth approximately €54,000”, considering that this “constitutes an excessive, unjustified and unjustified benefit proportionate.”

And the same for 180,000 euros, albeit in installments, “for a follow-up carried out by a representative of a minor under 15 years of age.”

During the process, Judson Fernandez said the company took advantage of his “inexperience and immaturity” to get him to “sign contracts under the pretense that they are necessary documents to secure the car”: the athlete was 15 years old and in the ninth grade of education.

In April 2019, Gedson Fernandez decided not to sign a new contract with his representatives, who were also representatives of Benfica on a four-year contract (2018-2022) with the club.

Likewise, the mandates of the “incarnated” were in the two contract amendments that allowed him to go from 3,000 euros in monthly salary to 7,500 euros and later to 26,250 as a result of their “performance”.

In court, prosecutors refuted Gedson Fernandez’s claims about the “excessive and understated nature of the penalty clauses”, claiming that they were “based on the contractual freedom and autonomy of the parties.”

The first case was filed with the Central Civil Court of Porto, and later referred to the Court in Vila Nova de Gaia: by an order of October 23, 2020, the last court in the territory was declared lacking jurisdiction and the case was referred to the Central Court. Civil Loures.