Benfica denied this Sunday, in a statement, that the Spanish handball coach Chema Rodríguez had attacked Sporting’s counterpart, Ricardo Costa, at the end of the derby on Saturday for the quarterfinals of the Portuguese Cup.
According to the reds, Rodríguez “at no time attacked the Sporting coach” at the end of the Leonese victory, 34-30, in Pavilhão No. 2 of the Estádio da Luz, in Lisbon, after a statement from the rivals denouncing This act
“The accusation made by Sporting in its statement is therefore false and defamatory. Benfica cannot allow, with false accusations, an attempt to divert attention from the unsportsmanlike and provocative behavior of the Sporting team and their coach Ricardo Costa in the final part of the match And that caused the indignation of Chema Rodríguez ”, can be read in a statement from the eagles.
Sporting had denounced this aggression and another against the team captain, Salvador Salvador, this one by a red fan, at a time when the contempt was unleashed after the final whistle.
A police source had confirmed to the Lusa agency three arrests, in Pavilion no. 2 of the Estádio da Luz, in Lisbon, where Sporting beat Benfica, 34-30.
The same source explained that a Benfica fan was arrested after the match for assaulting Salvador Salvador, while a Sporting fan was arrested for assaulting a referee.
Earlier, a source from the Authority for the Prevention and Combat of Violence in Sports (APCVD) had already told Lusa that a red fan had been arrested at the venue, for breaching the ban on sports venues.
According to the same source, the detainee is 24 years old, is a Benfica fan and had been sanctioned with a ban on access to sports venues by the APCVD in September 2022, for fireworks, having been intercepted by the Public Security Police (PSP) when He tried to access the bench of the red enclosure.
Source: TSF
