A Portuguese football match was abandoned mid-game following allegations of racist abuse directed at a visiting player, prompting the team to withdraw despite differing accounts of the incident’s immediate trigger.
The incident occurred during the 61st minute of a match between Fermentelos and Pampilhosa in Portugal’s Aveiro Football Association Elite Championship. The referee initially suspended play, citing a lack of safety conditions after the visiting coach was expelled.
Pampilhosa, however, stated that repeated racist insults targeting one of its players were the true cause of the escalating situation. Álvaro Quinteiro, director for Pampilhosa, explained that insults began in the first half.
“Everything started in the first half with racist insults to our player,” Quinteiro said. “He managed, the second time, to identify the aggressor and warned the referee.”
The referee spoke with the Fermentelos bench, but the game continued. At halftime, the targeted player filed a complaint with the GNR, Portugal’s national guard. Quinteiro said the GNR later informed them the matter had been “resolved.”
In the second half, the insults allegedly resumed. Pampilhosa’s coach, Pedro Moniz, was expelled from the game after intervening in defense of his player.
“Our athlete heard racist insults again, twice, and our coach, in his defense, rebelled, being expelled,” Quinteiro added.
Following Moniz’s expulsion, the Pampilhosa team entered the changing room. Players indicated they did not feel comfortable returning to the field amidst the confusion.
The club made the decision to abandon the match. “This type of event, racist insults, cannot be normalized and cannot happen on a football field,” Quinteiro affirmed. “We will go to the ultimate consequences in defense of our values, which are much more important than three points.”
Fermentelos’s sporting director, Alexandre Silva, offered a different perspective on the events leading to the abandonment. He stated that the home club “did everything to resolve the alleged insults” after being warned by the referee in the first half, including placing staff in the area.
Silva noted that after the game resumed in the second half, “everything was normal, until the opposing coach got agitated, was expelled, and jumped into the stands behind the bench and the confusion started.”
The referee then stopped the game, and the GNR requested reinforcements. Silva explained that once the GNR arrived, the referee attempted to restart the match, but Pampilhosa refused to continue playing.
Regarding the racism allegations, Silva stated Fermentelos “will wait for the referee’s and GNR’s report.” He added that if any form of racism is confirmed, the club “will do everything to find out who did it” and “will take due decisions, namely, preventing them from re-entering the stadium.”