Benfica denied in a statement on Sunday that Spanish handball coach Chema Rodríguez attacked Sporting’s counterpart Ricardo Costa at the end of Saturday’s derby for the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup.
According to the ‘incarnates’, Rodríguez “never attacked the Sporting coach”, at the end of the ‘leonine’ victory, 34-30, in Pavilhão n.º 2 of Estádio da Luz, in Lisbon, after a statement from the rivals to denounce this act.
“Sporting’s accusation in its statement is therefore false and defamatory. Benfica cannot allow false accusations to divert attention from the unsportsmanlike and provocative behavior of Sporting’s team and its coach Ricardo Costa in the latter part of the meeting. And that’s where the indignation of Chema Rodríguez arose,” reads a communiqué from the ‘eagles’.
Sporting had denounced this aggression and another against team captain Salvador Salvador, this time by a ‘red’ fan, at a time when disrespect erupted after the final whistle.
A police source had confirmed to the Lusa office three arrests, in Pavilhão n.º 2 of Estádio da Luz, in Lisbon, where Sporting beat Benfica 34-30.
The same source explained that a Benfica supporter was detained after the match for assaulting Salvador Salvador, while a Sporting supporter was detained for assaulting an official.
Earlier, a source from the Authority for the Prevention and Control of Violence in Sports (APCVD) had already informed Lusa that a ‘red’ fan had been detained in the fence for failing to comply with the ban on sports venues.
According to the same source, the detainee is 24 years old, is a Benfica fan and was banned from sporting venues by the APCVD in September 2022 over fireworks, after being intercepted by the Public Security Police (PSP) when he was tried for access to get to the bank of the ‘red’ housing.
Source: DN
