FC Porto file complaint, Sporting risk playing behind closed doors | OneFootball

FC Porto is preparing to file a disciplinary complaint against Sporting due to the disturbances recorded during the Classic (1-2) at Estádio José Alvalade last Saturday, with 'threats' of one or more matches behind closed doors being mentioned, according to Thursday's print edition of the newspaper A Bola.

The Liga Portugal delegate present at the fourth round match of the Primeira Liga included in his report the incidents involving three Porto players during the celebrations of the two lightning goals (scored by Luuk de Jong and William Gomes), which occurred between the 61st and 64th minutes, when they were targeted by the anger of Sporting fans.

Zaidu Sanusi, William Gomes, and Victor Froholdt were subjected to objects being thrown by Sporting fans; in the case of the Nigerian left-back, the throwing of a lighter caused the player to fall to the ground and required medical assistance for several minutes.

To frame the possible disciplinary action, the competition regulations refer to article 181, which stipulates: “If the aggression targets a member of the refereeing team, delegate or observer of Liga Portugal, player or official of the clubs participating in the game, the club is punished under the terms of paragraph 1 of article 179.”

The same regulation further clarifies that “The club whose member or supporter physically assaults a sports agent (…) in such a way that the referee, justifiably, delays the start or restart of the game or interrupts its execution for a period exceeding 10 minutes, is punished with the sanction of holding matches behind closed doors, set between a minimum of one and a maximum of two games.”

Thus, in addition to a possible fine that may be announced by the Disciplinary Council (CD) of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) later today, Sporting risks having to play between one to two matches behind closed doors, a decision that may be appealed if applied.

It should also be noted that, besides these incidents, 17 Sporting fans—positioned below the visiting stands—were injured following the collapse of a glass structure, a fact that led the president of Sporting, Frederico Varandas, to use the term “savages.”

“That infrastructure has been there for over 20 years. What happened is that there are savages who should not be in a sports venue. Just look at the images, they kicked it numerous times until it broke. Now it is a matter for the authorities. Sporting did what it had to do. Sporting condemns the actions of our fans. Sporting is consistent. Two months ago there was a cowardly attack on FC Porto fans. Now, there were 17 injured by savages who cannot be in a sports venue. Comparing this to objects I see being thrown at every game, for God's sake,” he commented on the matter, this Wednesday.

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