Vítor Pinto on Dragão tunnel row: “Tense, but no violence” | OneFootball

Halftime in the match between FC Porto and Manchester City was marked by a highly tense incident near the pitch. Vítor Pinto, deputy editor of Record, revealed that a real “earthquake” took place during that period, in a chain of events that began on the field and extended to the players’ tunnel.

The start of the incident

According to the reconstruction made by the Record journalist, it all appears to have started with an exchange of words between Henrique Monteiro and Enzo Fernández, while still on the pitch. Tiago Madureira then became involved in the argument and, at that moment, Rúben Dias approached and pushed the FC Porto director, in an action that, according to Vítor Pinto, was witnessed by everyone present.

The situation reportedly continued by the tunnel. The “extracurricular activities,” as the journalist calls them, carried on in that area and, according to unconfirmed reports in the English press, Rúben Dias also allegedly pushed Francesco Farioli, causing further commotion near the dressing rooms.

Record prioritizes confirmation of the facts

Vítor Pinto stresses that the Record team followed and verified, from the very first moment, all the information released about the case. Some of the reports that circulated, however, were not confirmed. The journalist also highlighted the concern expressed by the English press over the possibility of their players being investigated and punished, considering that behavior surprising and indicative of the need to analyze events with caution.

After cross-checking the information gathered on site, Vítor Pinto confirms that the atmosphere in the tunnel was indeed tense, although there is no record of any assaults. Without incidents of that nature being properly confirmed, it will also be more difficult for UEFA to move forward with any disciplinary proceedings.

Calm in the second half

The journalist assures that by the start of the second half, the situation had already been completely normalized and there was no further tension. At the end of the match, both teams behaved calmly, despite the incident that had taken place shortly before.

Vítor Pinto also underlines the intervention of the security staff in the tunnel, whose actions helped calm tempers and prevent the situation from escalating further.

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