Frederico Varandas has been cleared of defamation over remarks about Pinto da Costa, after the Court of Appeal found his 2022 description fell under freedom of expression. The ruling is final.
According to Lusa, the Court of Appeal upheld a July 2025 Lisbon local criminal court ruling after an appeal by the widow of the late former Porto president.
Judges noted Varandas was referring to a specific case in which Pinto da Costa had been named a defendant and sent for trial on a charge of active sporting corruption. Although he was not convicted, the expressions used were deemed opinion and criticism, not criminally punishable.
In March 2022, Varandas recast a label he had used in 2020, swapping bandit for active corrupter while discussing a defamation case brought by the then Porto president. He said he did not intend to offend and could choose the latter phrasing as a more elegant option.
Varandas has now been cleared at first instance and on appeal in this matter. On 28 January, the Porto Court of Appeal also ruled for him in a separate case over the bandit remark, overturning a Bolhão court order to pay 12,200 euros to Pinto da Costa’s heirs, comprising 7,200 euros for defamation and 5,000 euros for non-pecuniary damages.
