Sporting are the league's second-most punished, but top one stat | OneFootball

Sporting Sporting have shown some disciplinary problems at the start of the season. After seven league rounds, the Lions have picked up 19 cards and are the second most penalized team in the competition, with particular emphasis on sanctions resulting from protests and altercations.

In total, Rui Borges’s side have received 18 yellow cards and one red. Only Académico de Viseu have a higher tally, with 20 cards, while Moreirense and Arouca are level with Sporting, also on 19.

The most striking figure, however, lies in the so-called “avoidable” cards. Six of the green-and-whites’ bookings came from protests or altercations, the highest number among all Liga clubs. Académico de Viseu, Vitória de Guimarães and Alverca come next, with four.

Gonçalo Inácio is the Sporting player most often punished for dissent, having received two yellow cards in these circumstances. Maxi Araújo and Iván Fresneda were also booked for protests, while Jesse Derry and Luis Suárez were shown cards following altercations.

The overall number also represents an increase compared to the start of recent seasons. The Lions had 13 cards after seven rounds in 2025/26 and only five in 2024/25. In 2023/24 they had 21 and, in 2022/23, they reached 23 over the same period.

Despite the numbers, Sporting’s public stance on refereeing remains unchanged. “I praise my coach a lot, I ask him not to talk about refereeing and he does not. We understand that this is the direction Portuguese football should be heading in. Is it easy? No. Is it fair? No,” Frederico Varandas said recently.

Discipline will already have consequences for the trip to Braga, scheduled for 9 October. Zeno Debast will serve a one-match suspension after being sent off against Arouca, while Luis Suárez travels to Pedreira with four yellow cards and is just one booking away from a suspension.

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