Derby drama continues: Sporting hit back and lodge complaint against Porto | OneFootball

The classic match this Monday between Sporting and Porto was marked by several controversies off the pitch. Through an official statement, the Alvalade club reacted to the incidents recorded at Estádio do Dragão and announced its intention to file a disciplinary complaint with the Disciplinary Council of the Portuguese Football Federation against the Dragons.

Among the various incidents reported, the national champions mention situations that occurred in the stands—particularly in the section designated for visiting fans, where speakers were placed in areas covered by curtains—but also episodes that took place on the pitch and in technical areas, including the visiting team’s locker room and the access routes to it.

“What should have been one of the best sporting spectacles of the current season was, regrettably but not surprisingly, turned into a journey back to a time that the current FC Porto—certainly by oversight—does not relinquish and insists on perpetuating: conditioning of refereeing, suggestively decorated locker rooms, altered access routes to the locker rooms (facilitating contact between staff and FC Porto fans), manipulated climate control, stands restricted with banners and speakers, and even ball boys manipulated to hide the match balls and remove the Sporting goalkeeper’s towels,” reads the note issued by the Lisbon club, which also leaves indirect criticism of André Villas-Boas’s leadership, while also recalling the recent presidency of Pinto da Costa at Porto.

“These events are clear proof that ‘the past is never dead, it’s not even past’ and, as for the much-touted breath of fresh air, not even in the air conditioning. This is, in fact, the result of a premeditated and long-standing strategy, always with the same main actor, with a direct impact on sporting integrity, the credibility of the competitions, and the value of football, which is, once again, seriously harmed in what is yet another dark episode of Portuguese football,” Sporting further emphasized in the same statement.

It is worth remembering that Sporting ended up drawing with Porto. The goal that secured the draw for the Lions was scored by Luis Suárez in the final play of the match—Diogo Costa saved the penalty, but the Colombian made no mistake on the rebound. Rui Borges’s team remains in second place in the league, with 52 points—four fewer than the Dragons (56).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.