An under-17 futsal match between Algarve teams Castromarinense and Farense last week ended in a chaotic episode of violence between players and supporters.
The match took place at Castro Marim’s municipal pavilion on Thursday, April and was part of the U-17 Futsal Algarve Cup, ending in a 4-1 victory for the home team. But shortly after the final whistle, all hell broke loose inside the pavilion. Footage shows players of both teams getting into fistfights and other kinds of physical violence, with spectators jumping from the stands onto the court to join the chaos.
José Vicente, the futsal director for Farense, suspects that the violent outbreak was caused by an incident between athletes of both teams before the match.
“Some of our athletes shared a message on social media that Castromarinense considered offensive and filed a complaint with the Algarve Football Association,” he told Jornal de Notícias.
He added that Farense would not be filing a complaint “so that tensions can calm down”.
Meanwhile, the Authority for the Prevention and Combat of Violence in Sports (APCVD) announced that it has opened an “administrative offense process” to investigate responsibilities in the disturbances after the match.
“The APCVD has initiated an administrative offense process aimed at determining compliance with duties and possible administrative responsibilities of the promoter of the sports event and the visiting club,” the organisation announced in a statement.
Complaints have also been filed with the PSP and the GNR police forces.
