“What should have been one of the best sporting spectacles of the time became, regrettably but not surprisingly, a journey back to a time that the current FC Porto – certainly by mistake – does not give up and insists on perpetuating”won the two-time national champions.
Convinced that “the past is never dead, it is not even past”, Sporting condemned “another dark episode in Portuguese football” and joked about the “vaunted breath of fresh air” promised by the president of FC Porto, André Villas-Boas, since he succeeded the now deceased Pinto da Costa as leader of the club.
“This is the result of a premeditated and long-implemented strategy, always with the same main actor, with a direct impact on sporting truth, on the credibility of competitions and on the appreciation of football, which is, once again, seriously harmed”he continued.
Sporting guaranteed that it remains available to cooperate with all entities, even “in adverse contexts”, but asked the Portuguese Professional Football League (LPFP) and the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) to take responsibility and implement measures.
Hours before Sporting’s statement, a source from FC Porto told the Lusa agency that the Dragons intend to formalize a complaint with the FPF CD against Morten Hjulmand, for alleged aggression by the midfielder and captain of the Leonine team against the Spanish-Uruguayan Tiago Galletto, in the green and white triumph over AVS in the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup (3-2, after extra time).
Sporting, holder of the trophy, and FC Porto will face each other in the semi-finals of the premier competition, which will be played for the last time over two legs this season and with games scheduled for March 3, in Lisbon, and April 22, in Porto.
The two rivals drew on Monday, for the 21st round of the I League, with the lions avoiding defeat in added time, through Luis Suárez, in the recovery of a penalty missed by the Colombian, after the Ivorian substitute and debutant Seko Fofana had advanced the hosts.
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