Francisco J. Marques and FC Porto lost five out of six cases they had filed at the European Court of Human Rights. The cases concerned complaints regarding decisions by the Disciplinary Board of the Portuguese Football Federation.
The comments that gave rise to the disciplinary proceedings were made publicly by Francisco J. Marques between 2017 and 2019. Marques, who was at the time the communication director of FC Porto, made several public statements about refereeing issues.
The European Court of Human Rights rejected the complaints filed by Marques and the club, considering that there was no violation of the rights protected by the European Convention on Human Rights. Only one of the six cases had a favorable decision.
This decision represents a significant defeat for the attempts by Francisco J. Marques and FC Porto to legally challenge the disciplinary sanctions that had been applied by the Portuguese football federation body.
