Porto’s Sergio Conceicao accused of hitting referee, mayor and police officers at kids tournament

Porto manager Sergio Conceicao has been accused by the mayor of Spanish town Cartaya of hitting a referee, police officers and the mayor himself, at a local under-nine kids tournament, according to a report in ESPN.

In response, Porto confirmed that Conceicao had filed a legal complaint against the mayor, alleging that he pushed one of his sons.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

The club added that the manager intends to take further legal action for defamation as a result of the mayor's supposed 'retelling' of the version of events on a local Spanish radio station.

"A criminal complaint was filed yesterday, immediately after the events, against mayor Manuel Barroso for attempted assault on Sergio Conceicao's son," read a statement from Conceicao's lawyer.

"We deny the accusations made by the same mayor, which have no basis in truth. In view of the news published in the meantime, we will also move forward with a complaint for defamatory allegations against mayor Manuel Barroso," it added.

Porto saidConceicao had entered the field of play after the match to quiz referee about an incident that had left the parents and their kids disappointed. However, one ofConceicao's son was pushed by the mayor which forced the manager to intervene and the incident escalated from there.

Previous controversies

Notably, this is not the first instance when Conceicao has been embroiled in a controversy. Earlier this month, after his side's Champions League round-of-16 clash defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, the Porto manager alleged that his counterpart Mikel Arteta insulted his family.

“During the game and towards the bench … I don’t know if this is to do with Spanish managers, because it was the same thing with [Pep] Guardiola, he insulted my family," said Conceicao.

“In the end, I told him to pay attention because the person he insulted is no longer with us, and I told him to worry about coaching his team, because due to individual quality he has an obligation to do more and better."

The two managers were seen exchanging words after the tense penalty shoot-out which Arteta's team won 4-2 as the tie ended 1-1 on aggregate after the end of two legs.

Quizzed about Conceicao's statement, Arteta simply replied: “Thanks. No comment.”

Notably, after Porto's UCL match against Manchester City in 2020, Conceicao made similar remarks, suggesting that Guardiola had insulted his bench.