FC Porto were just hours away from receiving their 'neighbor' Boavista, this Sunday, when the 'blue and white' announced that Porto Comercial, a company belonging to the club's business universe, and the Associate's store at the Estádio do Dragão were being searched by the authorities. These proceedings, which resulted from what was called Operation Golden Ticket, would end with more than a dozen defendants and thousands of tickets and money seized. Here is a timeline and what is at stake.

Shortly after the searches were announced, a source from the Public Security Police (PSP), the force that conducted the searches, confirmed that the proceedings were "related to Operation Praetorian", which investigates the incidents that occurred at the General Assembly (GA) of FC Porto, on November 13, 2023. It was also a source from this security force that ended up confirming that the issue was, after all, the Operation Golden Ticket, which originated from a certificate extracted from the investigation that led to Operation Praetorian, and which aimed to execute 14 search warrants and four non-domiciliary search warrants, in the municipalities of Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia and Matosinhos.

The proceedings were ordered by the competent entities - Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) and Criminal Examining Magistrate - and were executed with the operational support of various PSP units, including its Special Police Unit (UEP).

Four thousand tickets and 44,510 euros seized

At the end of the night, an official source from the PSP confirmed to Lusa that the operation resulted in the seizure of four thousand FC Porto football match tickets, 44,510 euros in cash, documentation related to the illegal sale of tickets and in the constitution of 13 defendants. 

A torch, several computer and telephone equipment, several cameras with sets of lenses and 323 membership cards of the Organized Group of Supporters Super Dragões were also seized. 

MP suspects "collusion" between FC Porto employees and Super Dragões

At issue is the suspicion of a criminal scheme, related to the distribution and sale of tickets associated with FC Porto, involving club employees and several elements that make up one of its fan clubs.

According to the search warrants and the investigation to which Lusa had access, the MP suspects "collusion" between employees linked to the club and an associated company and members of Super Dragões in the purchase of tickets for football matches later sold on the 'black market'.

"From all the evidence gathered so far and duly documented, there is no doubt that several people have considerable profits from the irregular sale of tickets, which clearly harms FC Porto, and the State, which is 'known and accepted' within the club as a bargaining chip for the support of the fan club", it can be read. 

According to these documents, the MP started from the suspicions related to Fernando Madureira, leader of the fan club involved, and his wife, Sandra Madureira, and has now surpassed Operation Praetorian.

At issue are crimes of distribution and sale of false or irregular titles/irregular distribution and sale and also qualified breach of trust, with non-domiciliary searches to administrators Rui Lousa, from Porto Comercial, and Alípio Jorge, responsible for the club's houses, among others.

The investigation also revealed how this activity "reorganized and adapted to the new reality after Operation Praetorian", which led to the arrest of the leader of Super Dragões.

"From the facts captured in the investigation, the existence of a highly profitable illicit activity around the so-called FC Porto ticketing became evident, involving - 'prima facie' - employees and the organized group of supporters Super Dragões", it can be read in the investigation.

Through the connection to club employees, Fernando Madureira collected the tickets destined for the fan club but also others identified as belonging to athletes, human resources and other designations, selling them on the 'black market', when these are exclusive to club employees.

The "close connections" of defendants such as 'Aleixo', Vitor Manuel Oliveira, to the employees of the 'dragons' with a view to this scheme are also highlighted in the investigation, which points to Cátia Guedes, who leads the ticket issuing operation, Fernando Saul, liaison officer to the supporters, Márcia Fonseca, from Porto Comercial, Manuel António Magalhães, employee of the ticket office, and two "superior elements", José Pedro Dias and Rui Lousa.

The creation of FC Porto 'houses' without a physical address, to obtain tickets, the resale of invitations and other free tickets are described here, as well as the continuation of the illegal operation after the arrest of Fernando Madureira.

According to the MP, the suspicion falls on the family of the leader of the fan club, in this case his daughter and her grandparents, who continued the operation which, it is suspected, involves the connivance and "collusion" between club employees and members of the fan club.

Super Dragões absent from the match against Boavista

The fan club was not present, for the first time in history, in the stands of the Estádio do Dragão. The Super Dragões announced their absence from the match, justifying it with the seizure of tickets. 

"Given the circumstances, since it is not possible to determine which tickets have already been delivered to groups and/or nuclei, Futebol Clube do Porto was asked to cancel and cancel all tickets issued under the aforementioned Protocol. The due clarifications will surely be provided regarding the procedure to be adopted regarding the return of the tickets already delivered and canceled", they announced in a statement. 

"We cannot fail to regret what happened, being the first time in history that the stands will not be filled. We are fully convinced that everything will be clarified in due course", they conclude. 

The FC Porto ended up beating Boavista by 2-0, in what was Dragão's farewell this season. Thus, FC Porto returns to third place to discuss direct entry into the Europa League group stage (which they can still guarantee if they win the Portuguese Cup). They have one more point than the bracarenses, and will visit them at Pedreira on the last day. Boavista, on the other hand, continues to seek permanence.

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