Just a few days ago, he had scored, marking the return to victory for his Reggiana after six games without a win. However, today Manolo Portanova is facing a very heavy judicial verdict: the Court of Appeal has sentenced him to six years in prison for group sexual violence against a girl, thus confirming the first-instance ruling. The 25-year-old midfielder announced that he will immediately appeal to the Supreme Court: "I will not stop because I believe in justice, I have been living an incredible situation for five years. I am innocent and I have the evidence." Evidence that evidently, at least so far, has not convinced the investigators. The events date back to 2021 and occurred in Siena when Portanova was playing for Genoa. The girl in question, then 22 years old, had reported two other men in addition to the footballer – her uncle and a third defendant who chose to proceed with the ordinary trial, rather than the abbreviated one.
The real point of the matter is that Portanova has never stopped playing football since then. He has always professed his innocence and continues to do so: in legal terms, until the final ruling of the last level of judgment, it is right to recognize him as such. That said, however, there are other aspects that cannot be overlooked. A case like this, considering that a player has lived his career between Serie A and Serie B, ends up touching on important chords, especially in our time. It is true that the times of ordinary justice cannot take into account the needs of the professional sports field, which could see a player's entire career pass before a ruling, but it is also true that it is impossible not to think about the fact that Portanova has continued to play football after being found guilty of rape, at least in the first instance. And that he could/should continue to do so even after the appeal ruling.
The FIGC has not been able to express itself, but since 2024 there is Article 28-bis of the Sports Justice Code according to which «those convicted with a final ruling for crimes against individual personality, including sexual acts with minors, corruption of minors, sexual violence, and stalking» foresee specific sanctions. Even in this case, the wording «final ruling» would allow and therefore will allow Portanova, found guilty for the second time of a despicable crime, to continue playing. But perhaps a reflection should be opened on this point. Because a signal is needed, a strong signal. A signal of intransigence. One remains innocent until a final ruling, agreed, but in between there are nuances and also opportunities to make choices. To make decisions.
In this sense, the silence of Reggiana – which acquired the player on loan in the summer of 2023, two years after the events subject to the judicial proceedings – must be considered an attitude to be condemned. Also because there was the possibility to act differently. Not by chance, it is worth saying, just six months before the transfer to the Emilia team, it seemed that Bari was about to acquire Portanova. Here: while market experts were discussing the negotiation, the protests of the white-red fans convinced the club not to finalize the operation. Reggiana and the fans of Reggiana have decided to go in other directions. Permissible, of course, but now we have reached the second conviction. And indeed, the municipal council of Reggio Emilia, with an official note, has hoped for "possible measures" from the club regarding its player.
The point is precisely this: stepping out of the well-defined – and well-delimited – context of law, there are many doubts,too manydoubts, about whether Portanova could continue to be a footballer. The fact that he has been found guilty in two levels of judgment, and that both levels of judgment have sentenced him to six years in prison, is a criminal aspect that is really difficult to ignore. Especially on an ethical level: we are talking about a public figure, with almost weekly visibility and with a judicial framework that is becoming increasingly complicated. In light of this, it is right that Portanova stops. Or that he is stopped. Not because it would admit his guilt, and not only because this move would protect his person – on Sunday Reggiana will take the field in Padua and it is hard to imagine that around him there could be the adequate serenity for a football match. But for a simpler and perhaps more significant reason: we are at the second level of judgment and the second conviction for sexual violence, a situation of unprecedented gravity, which could – indeed: should – generate only one consequence. Namely, an awareness – on the part of Portanova, Reggiana, and its fans – that some limits cannot be crossed. This time it has already been crossed.
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