FC Porto president Andre Villas-Boas has spoken out after the club’s Super Dragões ultra group was attacked by Sporting fans.
The two Portuguese teams clashed off the pitch, this time following a roller hockey match between the teams.
Videos showed a car being beaten and then set on fire, with the vehicle containing members of Porto’s ultras who got out dazed.
Responding to the incident, Villas-Boas said: “We condemn the vile, barbaric and cowardly attack on FC Porto fans in every sense.
“This is something we cannot turn a blind eye to. The media also has an important role to play in condemning these acts and, as important as the transfer of the Sporting forward to another club is, this is much worse.
“This is an attempted murder of FC Porto fans, carried out in a public space. We cannot turn a blind eye. This was an attempted murder of FC Porto fans in a public space.
“Fortunately, both Minister Margarida Balseiro Lopes, Secretary of State Pedro Dias, as well as the Judiciary Police and the PSP worked hard to find the suspects.
“We hope they pay heavily for the crimes they committed, because these are violent images that have entered many homes.
“The press releases alone are not enough; we need support, not only from the Government, but from you, the media, to bring a new education to sport and expel this type of behaviour from society.”
He added: “We are providing all the support we can to the victims and their families, not only in terms of logistics and technical support, but also emotional support, due to the violence of all the acts that were committed.
“All we can do is wait for justice to take effect. The proceedings were very quick. We are very satisfied. The APCVD and Rodrigo Cavaleiro [president of the organization] were unsurpassed in the promptness with which they acted on this case and we hope that the defendants and the offenders are found and pay for what they did.”
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