It was the big bombshell of the week on the Portuguese sports scene: seven Portuguese judokas, six of whom were present at the last Tokyo Olympics, signed an open letter accusing the Portuguese Judo Federation in general and the president Jorge Fernandes in particular of a toxic climate, intimidating attitudes and xenophobic gestures towards naturalized athletes.
In the hours that followed the publication of the letter, Jorge Fernandes rejected all the accusations, detailing each situation in which he was personally involved throughout seven pages, but acknowledged that there are “problems with Benfica coaches and athletes”, highlighting that five of the seven judokas in question belong to the reds. In that follow-up, this Friday, Benfica itself decided to react to the case.
Oppressive and discriminatory attitudes, toxic climate, intimidation: seven Olympic judoka denounce the Federation in an open letter
“All the athletes who signed this letter, which, I repeat, are not just from Benfica, needed a lot of courage. It was necessary to reach a saturation point so great that it is not normal… To my knowledge it was the first time it had been done. In addition to that, for the athletes who are the elite of the national sport that judo represents, they are athletes who what they want most at this moment is peace and harmony”, defended Ana Oliveira, deputy director of Benfica’s Olympic project, in statements to TSF.
In response to complaints from Telma Monteiro, Catarina Costa, Rochele Nunes, Bárbara Timo, Anri Egutidze, Patrícia Sampaio and Rodrigo Lopes, Ana Oliveira also said that the president of the Federation must “gather his team and understand why this happened”. “Have the necessary humility and reflection to understand that this is really serious and that he has to solve it, together with the Olympic Committee. Give the conditions that athletes want, need and have conquered”, he concluded.
“It’s a lie”: president of the Judo Federation responds to an open letter from athletes (and explains the Coca-Cola episode)
Source: Observadora
