Refereeing Council vice-president João Ferreira in session with the media on the Video Assistant Referee

The Portuguese Football Federation hosted a questions and answer session with the press this week on the Video Assistant Referee, set to be introduced into Portuguese professional football (Liga NOS).

João Ferreira was on hand to explain the technology: "We don't want the Video Assistant Referee to be involved a lot, but when it does then it must benefit the game as much as possible." The system will be focused on four areas: goals (all goals will be analysed), penalties, direct red cards (red cards for two bookable offences will not be included) and the erroneous identification of a payer.

All stadiums will be linked up to an operations centre hosted in Portugal's City of Football, with the capacity to analyse four matches simultaneously by a team of 22 assistants.

"The idea is for things to carry on as normal, but knowing that everything is being looked at. The referee will ask for assistance (by signalling the shape of a rectangle in the air, in the shape of a television) and the players or coaches cannot interfere in the decision. Players or coaches cannot ask for a situation to be reviewed", explained João Ferreira.

The system will debut in the Portuguese Cup final, ahead of its full implementation for the 2017/18 Liga NOS season.

Jorge Jesus on final day win

"We wanted to finish with a win and the fans came out for us again. I thought the lads were great today and found it easy to score", said Jorge Jesus after his side's 4-1 win against Chaves this Sunday.

Despite the win, Jesus saw this as a time for reflection on what was a tough season: "We finished with 70 points, which is 16 less than last season."

The Alvalade coach also took a moment to focus on two of his star performers: "Gelson used to be a very individual player, but now he gets involved with the rest of the team. He has really developed tactically throughout the season. We were hoping Bas Dost would win the Golden Boot, but Messi can score every which way. However it was a really important season for him and for Sporting CP."

Bas Dost hattrick secures final-day victory

Sporting CP emphatically dismissed two recent defeats with a demolition of Chaves (4-1) this Sunday, on the final day of this season's Liga NOS campaign. Of course it was Bas Dost who did the damage, bagging yet another hattrick on an evening that also saw Matheus Pereira find the back of the net.

Alvalade's Dutch hitman showed signs of what was to come after just three minutes, with an attempted backheel that the Chaves keeper managed to deny. Sporting CP continued to push the pace and Chaves struggled, resorting to some heavy tackles in an attempt to break up the play. On 10 minutes Podence was brought crashing down in the area by Ponck and Dost stepped up for the conversion from 12 yards.

The narrowest of leads that really didn't last long, because Sporting CP's number 28 was at it again after quarter of an hour with a towering header to make it 2-0. Another 15 minutes later Matheus Pereira also got his name on the scoresheet after some brilliant work by the in-form Gelson Martins.

With the result virtually in the back Jorge Jesus' side slowed the pace after the break, while Chaves looked to find a consolation. Jefferson hammered a shot against the bar on the 52 minute, but it was the visitors who struck when Willian converted on a cross from Lenho.

A balanced last half an hour followed, with the odd chance at both ends, before Bas Dost rounded off what has been a brilliant season with his 34th goal of the campaign.

Ledman LigaPro comes to a close with a draw in Braga

The Ledman LigaPro season game to a close with a 1-1 draw against Sp. Braga B this weekend, in a match which saw Luís Martins blood several new faces. In the end it was one of the youngsters who decided the result, with Rafael Leão netting on his senior debut in the dying stages.

Jorge Jesus on the last game of the campaign

The last match of the season, the 2017/18 campaign and the coming transfer window were the three main topics covered by Jorge Jesus in this Saturday's pre-match press conference. While keeping the focus on winning the three points on Liga NOS matchday 34, the Alvalade coach also dismissed rumours on his relationship with president Bruno de Carvalho.

"This is the last game of a season that hasn't gone how we wanted it to. Our last game wasn't how we wanted it to be either. We are on the back of two loses and the atmosphere isn't great now, but we want to end this season with a win for the fans. We want to finish on a good note and turn our attention to next season", opened Jesus, who is already looking ahead to a series of preparatory meetings with Bruno de Carvalho: "We have ideas to talk about and we are working on them. What we want next season is one that is like my first here. A team that fights tooth and nail for the title. That is what we are looking to build and that is what we will be talking about."

To finish Jorge Jesus proved puzzled in relation to interest in Adrien, William Carvalho and Rui Patrício: "I honestly don't know anything about what is being said in the press. They are all important players for us, they are Euro 2016 winners and they are central to our project. We have grown in terms of developing our players and losing one of them wouldn't be complete unexpected."

Jorge Jesus looks ahead to the weekend's Liga NOS action

Speaking in his pre-match press conference this Friday, coach Jorge Jesus accepted that last weekend's loss at the hands of Belenenses brought to an end one of the club's objectives for the 2016/17 campaign.

"The team really felt the loss, because we were on the back of a good run of games, with nine wins and two draws. It was a special day with a lot of families at the stadium, even though we are out of the title race. It was hard for us to lose like that, but players and coaches have to learn to live with both wins and loses. We have totalled 33 points in the second half of the season, which is at the same level as the teams at the top of the table. The match against Belenenses has stopped us going for 42 points, which is what we did last season", said Jesus.

Next on his list for analysis was the weekend's visit to 9th place Feirense: "This is one of the last games of the season and the win will be important for us. Feirense is a chance for us to pick up where we left off. It will be a hard game, like they all are in this league. Feirense have had a great season by their standards, built around intensity and good defensive organisation. "

About president Bruno de Carvalho's statement midweek, Jesus is in agreement: "The president said what he said and I have nothing to add. I agree with him and what we have to do now is pick ourselves up for the match against Feirense. The president took the right approach."

Liga NOS matchday 33 tickets on sale on Thursday and Friday

Tickets for Liga NOS matchday 33, between Clube Desportivo Feirense and Sporting Clube de Portugal, will go on sale at the Estádio José Alvalade ticket offices on Thursday the 11th of May and Friday the 12th of May from 10h00 to 20h00.

Tickets are for the south stand and are priced at €19.

Kick-off is scheduled for 20h30 on Saturday the 13th of May, in Estádio Marcolino Castro.

Jorge Jesus reflects on the weekend's loss to Belenenses

After watching his side let in three goals against Os Belenenses on Sunday, Jorge Jesus was never going to be happy in his post-match press conference. "We let in a penalty at a time when we were dominating. After that we let in two more from set pieces. Belenenses scored whenever they had the chance", opened the Alvalade coach, continuing: "We were slow, especially in the first-half. We just couldn't find the space to create clear opportunities. We have been playing really good football recently, but it just didn't happen for us today. The substitutions [Castaignos, Francisco Geraldes and Joel Campbell] didn't work and we didn't improve. In fact, I would say the changes damaged us a bit in terms of positioning."

With two matches to go and the battle for 2nd in Liga NOS thrown open by the weekend's previous results, Jesus was understandably surprised by what was only a third home loss of the season: "Belenenses were not better than us, but they were fortunate. We came into this on the back of a good run and nobody was expecting today. This kind of match gives us important experience and if we would have scored another goal it would have been a lot easier. We didn't take advantage of FC Porto's draw, but it wasn't because we didn't press. It was down to a lack of quality."

Sporting CP let in three against Belenenses, despite dominating possession

Sporting CP were unbeaten in 10 years in the season's regular match dedicated to the club's female supporters, but Belenenses had other ideas, sinking Sporting CP to an unexpected 3-1 defeat in the 11h45 kick-off.

Bruno de Carvalho and Rui Pedro Soares host event in Alvalade

The Sporting CP and OS Belenenses chiefs Bruno de Carvalho and Rui Pedro Soares were the ideal example of fair play between rival clubs in an event this Saturday. Alvalade and Belenenses skippers Adrien Silva and Tiago Caeiro were also on hand, in an initiative geared around discussing football in general and building up institutional relations between the two Lisbon sides.

Around two dozens youngsters also joined in the occasion, taking photographs in a mix of both sides' kits.