“Why did I throw my loser’s medal away? Because why
should I keep it? I tell you if that was a penalty I’m willing for
my son to die!” - Pedro Silva.
Yesterday’s Portuguese Carlsberg Cup final between local
powerhouses Sporting Lisbon and Benfica ended in controversy when
Sporting’s Pedro Silva disrespectfully chucked away his silver
medal after seeing his side lose on 3-2 penalties.
But Silva did have cause for his actions.
Having taken the lead through Bruno Pereirinha after just three
minutes, referee Lucilio Baptista made a horrible call
against the Sporting centre half when he adjudged the number 5 of
handballing in the box when camera replays clearly evidenced that
the ball had only run across the defender’s chest.
And to then make a bad situation worse, Pedro Silva was shown
his second yellow card and thus ordered to an early bath.
With emotions running at boiling point at the game’s end, Silva
publicly refused to accept the silver medal, opting to hurl the
runner’s-up award on the turf rather than walk away with the
second-prize.
The incident, including footage of the poor penalty decision,
can be seen here.