Porto hits back with facts, Pinto wants delegates, 22 April | OneFootball

“For a long time now, the situation has smelled bad.” The phrase comes from Vítor Pinto, deputy editor of Record, and sums up how the journalist views the controversy that preceded the handball clássico between FC Porto and Sporting — a controversy which, in his opinion, goes far beyond the scope of the Portuguese Handball Federation.

On Sporting’s side, there are photographs, there is testimony from the medical staff — Ricardo Costa and Cristian Mogá — and there are accounts from players who got changed in the corridor because of the conditions in the changing room. On FC Porto’s side, absolutely everything is disputed, with the letter of the law being invoked: the club says it informed the Handball Federation and called the PSP to the scene.

Vítor Pinto wants to know what is in the police report. And he has a very specific question about the Federation delegate, Rosa Pontes: if she did indeed feel unwell — as Sporting claims — how was it possible for her, or her colleague Carlos Oliveira, to decide that there were conditions for the match to go ahead?

For the journalist, the answer is simple: if, in an equivalent situation, it were Rui Borges or Francesco Farioli refusing to take the field because of a toxic smell in the changing room, no one would accept the game going ahead. In handball, the delegates decided there were conditions. Vítor Pinto disagrees — and makes it clear that any club, in any sport, that refuses to play in a situation like this will always have his support.

Another point of conflict: Sporting coach Ricardo Costa did not go to the bench. FC Porto has CCTV footage which, according to the club, shows the coach celebrating goals and giving instructions at half-time. On the Sporting side, the reported symptoms — heart palpitations and respiratory irritation — are consistent with exposure to the smell in the changing room. Porto’s version is that the medical information received pointed to gastroenteritis. Vítor Pinto notes that, regardless of the diagnosis, there was a real health issue — and that the theory of a plot to harm FC Porto is not credible to anyone.

With the second leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-final scheduled for 22 April at the Estádio do Dragão, Vítor Pinto has a very direct message for the Portuguese Football Federation: do not cut corners on delegates. The journalist asks for all critical areas to be covered — so that there are no complaints from either side, no doubts, and no more exchanges of accusations.

And he goes further: he argues that the political authorities should intervene. Not because he wants them to, he stresses, but because the situation has already gone beyond football, has already spread to other sports, and no sporting body on its own has enough authority to bring all those responsible to account. It is time for a serious warning.

“This has to stop,” Vítor Pinto concludes. And the smell, that one, has been around for far too long.

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