Sporting President Bruno de Carvalho said that he will not resign.GETTY IMAGES
Portuguese side Sporting's players "agreed to play in Sunday's Portuguese Cup final against Aves, despite being attacked at the club's training ground," according to the BBC. The players said that they do not "have the psychic and psychological conditions" to play, but will "honour their status as professionals." The players added that they would play out of respect for Portugal, Aves and "all those who love and live football" (BBC, 5/16). In Madrid, Javier Martín Del Barrio reported "there were a number of resignations" by Sporting execs following the attack. Club President Bruno de Carvalho, however, did not resign. On Wednesday night, de Carvalho "called a general assembly to explain the recent events at the club" and said that he "was not resigning, nor did he see any reason to step down." The execs who stepped down included one club VP, the entire assembly, the disciplinary council and the fiscal council. They "all invited de Carvalho to follow their lead." The 23 people who attacked the players "began to testify in court on Wednesday." Portugal's TVI reported that one of them was a club employee (EL PAÍS, 5/17). The EFE reported the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) on Thursday opened an investigation into Sporting "on suspicion of corruption." The FPF said in a statement that the probe is "based on news related to claims of corruption" (EFE, 5/17).
