Portugal · Top flight

Liga Portugal

Portugal's top flight, long dominated by Benfica, Porto and Sporting CP. The gap between the big three and the rest keeps favourites short-priced, so the more interesting questions are often about goals rather than who wins.

Season 2026/2027
18 clubs
Autumn–spring season

Liga Portugal referees: cards and fouls per game

29 referees have taken charge of Liga Portugal matches this season or last. Below is each one's record in the Liga Portugal since 2021: cards and fouls a match against the league average of the same seasons, and over 2.5.

This season (2026/2027) the Liga Portugal averages 4.91 cards and 25.2 fouls a match.

Referees this season and last

Referee	Cards	vs league	Matches	Fouls	Over 2.5	This season
Ricardo Baixinho	7.33	+1.81	39	30.5	51%	0
Gustavo Fernandes Correia	6.73	+1.02	70	29.7	50%	5
David Rafael Oliveira Silva	6.57	+1.01	46	30.1	39%	5
Hélder Miguel Azevedo Malheiro	6.30	+0.49	77	29.9	49%	0
António Emanuel Carvalho Nobre	6.22	+0.51	79	28.4	56%	1
José Armando Torres Bessa	6.22	+0.88	32	26.8	56%	3
Fábio José Costa Veríssimo	6.04	+0.25	74	28.5	50%	0
Luis Miguel Branco Godinho	5.98	+0.28	95	29.0	51%	5
João António Ferreira Gonçalves	5.89	+0.34	73	27.2	60%	4
Fabio Verssimo	5.76	+0.43	21	25.5	52%	4
Vitor Jorge Fernandes Ferreira	5.69	−0.52	27	28.7	41%	2
André Filipe Domingues Narciso	5.38	−0.34	74	29.5	53%	3
João Pedro Silva Pinheiro	5.37	−0.36	94	27.6	49%	4
Cláudio Filipe Ruivo Pereira	5.33	−0.37	58	25.5	52%	1
Miguel Bertolo Nogueira	4.96	−0.66	73	26.7	48%	5
Sérgio José dos Santos Guelho	4.69	−0.68	27	27.7	56%	4
Hélder Carvalho	4.62	−0.86	42	28.9	55%	2
Carlos André Fernandes Macedo	4.44	−1.02	44	27.9	61%	4
Bruno José Ribeiro Pires Costa	4.38	−1.08	47	27.4	36%	3
Iancu Ioan Vasilica	4.20	−1.14	41	27.7	49%	3
Anzhony Francisco Gonçalves Rodrigues	4.09	−1.30	22	26.7	59%	2
Under 20 matches in the league: these figures are mostly luck
Miguel André Monteiro Fonseca	5.39	+0.04	19	28.9	63%	3
Pedro Miguel Torres Ramalho	6.12	+0.78	17	27.4	29%	3
Luis Claudio Pereira dos Santos	4.82	−0.61	17	28.5	24%	0
Luís Carlos Mateus Filipe	5.91	+0.62	12	25.8	58%	3
Márcio André Dias Torres	3.89	−1.54	9	25.4	33%	0
Diogo Rosa	6.38	+1.01	8	28.4	63%	1
Gustavo Mota Correia	5.86	+0.43	7	27.1	14%	0
Fabio Melo	4.00	−0.91	1	30.0	100%	1

Sorted by cards a match, those with 20 or more matches in the league first. A referee's record is part referee and part luck: about half of a difference in cards carries over to their next matches, and goals do not follow the referee at all.

How much referees really change: our study →