Veteran Portuguese defender Pepe was concerned in a heated on-pitch bust-up with Porto teammate Mamadou Loum after their facet’s win in opposition to Farense, with officers and teammates scrambling to separate the warring gamers.
The fracas occurred moments after the ultimate whistle of their group’s 1-Zero away win in opposition to the relegation-threatened Primera Liga facet as ex-Actual Madrid stalwart Pepe approached approached his Senegalese teammate Loum, presumably to congratulate him for his function within the victory – just for Loum to push Pepe within the chest.
The 37-year-old defender briefly seemed puzzled earlier than he returned the favor, pushing Loum straight again as they launched right into a heated disagreement. Pepe then drove his shoulder into Loum’s chest earlier than the 2 livid gamers have been separated by teammates and match officers.
😳 Ex-Actual Madrid ace Pepe scuffles with OWN Porto team-mate pic.twitter.com/9vFFU3BiQr
— RT Sport (@RTSportNews) January 26, 2021
Considerably bizarrely, Loum had solely been on the pitch for a matter of minutes following his introduction as a late substitute so the motive for his or her fury stays unclear.
After being restrained, a clearly offended Pepe stormed down the tunnel in direction of the dressing room whereas Loum remained on the sector the place he was calmed down by one other teammate, Modibo Marega, and number of the Porto teaching employees.
Afterwards, Loum took to social media the place he issued a terse apology for the very public incident, describing Pepe as being like an “older brother” to him.
Gostaria de pedir desculpas a todos os fãs do @FCPorto pelo infeliz incidente que ocorreu esta noite. Isso nunca deveria ter acontecido. @officialpepe é um irmão mais velho e eu aprendi muito com ele. pic.twitter.com/EhBBIdgaiD
— Mamadou Loum Ndiaye (@loum_ndiaye) January 25, 2021
“I want to apologize to all FC Porto followers for the unlucky incident that occurred this night. It ought to by no means have occurred. Pepe is an older brother and I’ve realized quite a bit from him,” the 24-year-old wrote by way of translation.
Sergio Conceicao, the previous Portuguese worldwide winger who’s now Porto’s head coach, was equally eager to attract a line via the matter.
“There’s nothing to clarify, these are regular issues in soccer,” he mentioned after the sport.
“It occurs when gamers from the identical group have a special opinion. It was that second of disagreement. As well as, we’re speaking a couple of group with character and character and that is clear to see. Every part is resolved.”
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Pepe has lengthy held a repute as one of many stunning sport’s extra controversial characters. He received a galaxy of championships throughout his decade-long spell with Actual Madrid however was incessantly the goal of opposing followers’ boo-boys for what was seen by many as repeated infractions in opposition to the spirit of the game.
He has been commonly cited within the media for his aggressive fashion of play, in addition to repeated incidents of so-called “diving” throughout video games.
