1.14 The Rise and Fall of Bruno Carvalho - The Court Cases: The players testimony

To recap our last post we heard the testimony of both Vasco Santos who was in charge of security for the Sporting SAD as a whole and from André Geraldes the former Sporting team manager, a position equivalent to a sporting director and not to be confused with the role of the mister (the coach) held by Jorge Jesus. For Bruno Jacinto the former club liaison officer, the latter was the man he claimed to have forewarned about the Claques pending visit to Alcochete, a claim that was denied in his testimony to the court. Not for the first time we see direct contradictions in statements provided to the court by various witnesses into the warnings that were issued. In respects of the formers testimony, he was able to confirm he'd been present at the meeting held at Cashina in April where Bruno de Carvalho said “do whatever you want.” Importantly he confirmed the actual context in how it was used which didn't match the context in how the prosecutor Cândida Vilar was trying to present it to the courts. 

What follows in this and the next couple of posts will be the testimony of some of the players, although note not all. Just the key players and from others to give specific added insights. As always the testimony provided has been translated into English which is notoriously bad. I have changed some of the words merely to reflect what I think the original word said may have been. I have not made changes to deliberately falsify the original statements made, or in an attempt to mislead you the reader. 

Not for the first time I also lost this post and have had to reconstruct it again. Try imagine how happy my little face was. And now, on with the post…

Wendel

In the tenth session to the courts the Brazilian Wendel provides his testimony and explains when the initial stages of the attacks began that he was alone in the gym and upon noticing a group of hooded men running, heading to the locker room to warn the rest of the squad. Noting that someone tried to close the door of the dressing room and adding that between 25 and 30 fans tried to enter the space, recalled hearing someone say that "they were not players for Sporting" and that "they told the players to take off their shirts". He confirms he himself was slapped in the face by one of those present and witnessed many of the other "aggressions to other teammates".

"There were three people attacked: Acuña, Mišić and William Carvalho. Acuña I don't remember how many people he was assaulted by, but it was by more than one, with slaps in the face and head. Mišić was assaulted with a belt on his back by one of them. William was hit on the head with slaps, but I don't know by how many."

Wendel estimates that they "stayed about five minutes in the dressing room" and that "everything was very fast,” and that when they departed they did so all at the same time. He also confirms that he saw smoke, caused by the flares thrown, triggered the fire alarm to be activated, stating that he was "very afraid that it would happen again" in the future.

Jeremy Mathieu 

Also heard in the tenth session, the testimony of the French central defender Jeremy Mathieu. He stated before the court: "I will never forget the fear I felt. Even today, at the end of the games, I think about that day. I'm afraid this will happen again. Mathieu notes that Vasco Fernandes the technical secretary tried to close the locker room door to prevent an escalation but that "it was too late", as the hooded fans "forced" their way into the room and began their assaults of which he estimated there to have been between “20 to 30 people,” who entered the room in total. Mathieu noted that there were "three people in front of the door" whose role it was to prevent any of the players and staff from leaving, being informed they had to stay "inside the dressing room".

"I saw Marcus Acuña and Mišić being assaulted. Acuña was the first one I saw to be attacked with blows to the face, by two or three people who were returning from him. Then I saw Mišić being beaten with a belt, in the legs and back.”

Mathieu explained that as soon as they entered the locker room, the group looked for four players in particular: William, Patrício, Battaglia and then Acuña and confirmed that he did not feel that he was specifically one of the targets given he was not assaulted. He admits to having felt "afraid" in the midst of "a lot of confusion and agitation" that he witnessed.

In questioning by Miguel Fonseca, the lawyer for Bruno de Carvalho Mathieu confirmed that "the doctor Frederico Varandas, after the confusion" went to the dressing room to check on the health of the players and staff.

In relation to the incident at Madeira airport, Mathieu confirmed that he personally “did not respond” to the insults from the fans, however adding that "each person has their character" and that "there were colleagues who responded and that this created some moments of tension."

"I consider myself too intelligent not to respond to these things, but there were those who did.”

Mathieu revealed that in previous meetings de Carvalho was "agitated" with both Patrício and Carvalho, but that in the meeting that took place the day before the attacks "he spoke in a calm and relaxed way", saying that they were a "family". He confirms that in the meeting De Carvalho specifically mentioned the names of Battaglia in relation to the incident that occurred at the airport and "head of the supporters group.”

Stefan Ristovski 

During the 11th session the Sporting right-back Stefan Ristovski was heard. He is one of a number of players that will give testimony but Sporting's lawyer confirmed that Bruno Fernandes, Ristovski, Coates, Acuña, Wendel, Maximiano, Mathieu and Battaglia all asked to be heard by video conference or with the defendants outside the room.

He admits that: "After this incident I was always afraid. Even today, every time Sporting loses a game, I'm afraid that this will happen again.”

The Macedonian international explained how he’d been in the boot room when "four to five people outside, with their faces covered, were knocking on the door and doing everything to get in", while "shouting and making threats such as 'we are going to kill you'.”

"When they entered, they tried to understand who was where, who was standing. I was standing, next to me was Acuña, sitting, they started shouting some bad words. At that moment, we realized the intention. Acuña was assaulted with slaps in the face and head. He tried to avoid it, but he couldn't, because there were four to five people around him.” Ristovski states that the group was divided with parties either side of the dressing room. "They mentioned the name of Acuña and Battaglia, but they addressed everyone and said: 'this is going to be your last chance, you can't play this way'.”

Ristovski says that after the attacks "Nobody tried to leave. We were paralysed inside the dressing room, with our arms crossed waiting to be attacked. It was only half an hour later that we left the dressing room, because we were afraid that they were still with these people, and we waited for them to come and say something to us."

Ristovski recalls seeing a person with a flare and how the bathhouse was "full of smoke". According to the player, the invaders "broke the bathhouse" and left. During the invasion, he also said he remembered phrases said by the elements such as: "they have to show respect, they have to play better".

After the attack the defender sent his family to his native country. "I sent my wife and daughter to Macedonia, I stayed in a hotel and at the end of the game I went to meet them.”

João Palhinha

The midfielder João Palhinha, currently on loan to Sporting Braga adds his testimony before the court. He describes the attempts to close the entrance door to the locker room and what proceeded directly after when they failed to do so: "They punched some of my colleagues and threatened. It was all very fast and quite intense the way those moments were. The way they entered, they were obviously upset and started punching and kicking. Fredy Montero was next to me and was slapped in the face. Battaglia and Acuña were also punched. I saw Rui Patrício and William Carvalho being punched.”

Palhinha states that one of the defendants who chose not to cover his face had a “gold tooth” identified as Leandro Almeida. He alleges that Almeida gave a “slap” to the Colombian forward Fredy Montero. Preparing to strike the player a second time, Palhinha describes how he himself had intervened stating "that was unnecessary,” which brought a halt to the physical attack. It was his considered opinion that Montero "was not one of the main targets and that he took it by chance," in the end it was simply the case that "whoever they found first, took it".

Palhinha estimates the total of people involved numbered between 40 and 50 who were entering and exiting the locker room and had “four main targets,” Rui Patrício, William Carvalho, Battaglia and Acuña. "They went more to Rui [Patrício], William, Acuña and Battaglia. They were the main targets. There were three or four individuals back from Acuña and Battaglia trying to knock them down. As for Rui and William, it was just an individual who punched Rui and William in the chest.” Patrício and William singled out because they were the club captains, Acuña and Battaglia for what had happened at the airport in Madeira just two days previous to the attacks.

Palhinha confirms his presence at the meeting the previous day in which players, de Carvalho and other board members were present. He details how de Carvalho censored both Acuña and Battaglia. According to the midfielder the club president censured the behaviour of both Acuña and Battaglia in the airport at Madeira telling them that they "did not know who they had messed with", alluding to "one of the main elements of the fans group" Juventude Leonina.

Returning to the attack Palhinha describes additional threats received if they did not win the Taça de Portugal against Desportivo das Aves on Sunday claiming it was made clear to the players that "they would return.” He states that in addition he overheard a conversation to Patrício and William that "they were a shame, that they just wanted money and to leave the club by force.”

"The members of the fans also shouted: Sporting is us,” insinuating that they were the heart of the club not the players. One of those present ordered him to take off his training gear. At no point did he recall any of those present try to “avoid what was happening.”

Sidebar - Palhinha at the time of the attacks was still just 19 years of age and as still only a youth team player. Certainly not the tough tackling midfielder he would later be remembered for in the seasons to come.

He describes how elements blocked the players exits from the room. "They stood at the door, obstructing the exit [from the locker room]. At that moment I was stupefied, in a state of nerves and I stood still like my colleagues. It was a completely unexpected situation and we had no reaction, we all stood there looking at what was happening.”

He recalls how he saw one of the attackers with a belt and that two flares were thrown triggering the fire alarm. Palhinha states that one of the two flares thrown ended in the direction of the trainer Mário Monteiro, reporting that "it almost hit him in the face,” and actually that it still ends up hitting him in the stomach. He recalls after the attack and upon exiting the building he saw the mister Jorge Jesus with a bloodied nose. During the attacks Palhinha states that Bas Dost was the only player not present and that when he saw him he was "hurt and crying after being hit in the head".

Describing his state of mind after the attacks he relays how he'd told his father that he "didn't want to go back to the academy" and that he just wanted to "leave" the club. "The early days were not easy. I had nightmares because of this attack, but now it's completely outdated. But this attack on the academy took away some of the security that had inside that club. You are afraid that things will happen again.”

Romain Salin

Sporting's former goalkeeper Salin was heard vis Skype at the 21st session. Speaking from France with the aid of an interpreter he confirmed that between 20 and 40 "hooded" individuals entered the dressing room detailing how those first in approached the then captains Rui Patrício and William Carvalho, though he personally did not witness any physical aggression, as "it all happened very quickly, there was smoke, shouting and noise".

"The changing room was completely packed with people and there was smoke everywhere.” He also mentioned hearing insults and seeing "a 15-liter water bottle flying through the air."

Note - could this be the mythical glacier / ice berg? 

Salin tells how he tried to place himself between the intruders and two teammates, though stopped only one of them, who would later "calm down" after they talked.

Salin confirmed post attack that he saw three people with injuries: Bas Dost "with a cut on his head", Jorge Jesus, "who was bleeding from the nose", and one of the physiotherapists, who had "a hematoma" on his face.

Note - what could go wrong with a witness talking French, being translated once into Portuguese, reported on and translated by me into English. So, hematoma…imagine that bruise you get which goes from a dark colour and then through the colours of a rainbow. Apologies to anyone with a medical background reading that. 

Salin revealed that after the attack he "had a blackout" and that he "forgot a lot of things, because life goes on."

Note - blackout to mean memory loss, or possibly he was able to just put it to the back of home his mind therefore he never ruminated on what occured so his recall has faded. 

Interestingly whilst he claims he didn't feel "real fear” during the attack it would manifest itself in a different manner before and during games "with fear and pressure of not being able to catch the ball."

Note - Really not what you want from your goalkeeper. I cross references Israel's arrival and unfortunately now for the keeper at Torino he can't use the same excuse. 

Fábio Coentrão

The former Sporting defender gave an eloquent breakdown of the events. Well he may have done but the only thing mentioned during his testimony was that he confirmed his profession in court as a "retired football player.”

An entire article padded out with his entire career rather than admit someone fucked up.

Gelson Martins

Gelson Martins reveals that one of the attacks protected him. Stating the person had their face covered but sayid it could only be Domingos Monteiro. He also admits that he received a message warning him of the attack on the Alcochete academy. 

Note - That's all that was reported. Sorry? You received advanced warning. ‘So, Gelson what did you do with this information? How far in advance were you warned of the attack?’ Maybe they did ask but it's not reported or like with Fábio Coentrão someone dropped a bollock somewhere during the day. 

Rafael Leão

Leão provided evidence to the court during the 26th session. He was one of the then Sporting players who was able to provide a positive ID in relation to some of the assailants, in this instance Ruben Marques. Like with João Palhinha it is worth noting that Leão was one of the youngest members of the squad at the time of the attacks. At this time he is still himself only twenty years of age. 

He confirms that he could positively ID the defendant who hit Mišić with the belt and more importantly revealed how he knew the attacker: "When he came in, part of his face was covered with a scarf, I recognised him by his eyes, it was Ruben Marques, he went to school with me.”

It was also noted that Judge Pires prevented Bruno de Carvalho's lawyer, Miguel Fonseca from directly questioning Leão although it doesn't state the reason as to why. 

Bas Dost

The big Dutchman's turn to provide his testimony to the courts remembering he was the player who came out with the worst of the injuries received by all parties during the attack. Also the player most Sportinguistas, if not all would have been left thinking after learning of the assault - why the fuck did they attack him? He's been the club's top goalscorer for two seasons on the trot. He can hardly be accused of not having pulled his weight. He gives his evidence via Skype from Germany in the 29th session. It was the forward who left us with some of the most poignant words speaking not long after the attack: "It was a tragedy for everyone. I feel empty."

Bas Dost recalls his version of the attacks for the courts.

"I was in the gym before training and then, through the glass, I saw a lot of people coming in."

"Then I went to the locker room and, in the gym corridor, I wanted to talk to the invaders to ask what was going on there."

"Vasco Fernandes asked us to go inside the locker room, I don't know why."

"A large man entered the changing room and gave me an OK sign."

"It all happened very quickly, the first five passed me and then the sixth hit me."

“There was one who approached me with a clenched fist and something in that hand and hit me on the head with that object. I immediately fell to the ground and he started kicking me, and he even told another to kick me in the torso as well.”

"The first 5 who passed by me were talking very loudly and eager to get into the locker room."

"All I remember is that everyone was dressed in black."

"I think I was unconscious for 5 seconds, I only remember Joao Rollin coming over to help me. Thank God."

"He lifted me up with his arms, because he is very strong."

“I had a lot of blood in my head, he took me to another place and then told me he had to leave to help others, and I may have been selfish, but I asked him not to leave me. Then he took me to a room with a medical team and they treated my head there.”

"I remember asking if they had already left and they told me yes."

"I don't know any of the attackers personally."

"I didn't hear any threats, but my Portuguese isn't very good."

"I still have a scar."

"It was a very stressful situation, but the medical team did a very good job."

"Frederico Varandas came to remove the stitches from my house."

"It was terrible. Even months later I was still afraid when, for example, I went to the supermarket."

"I had extra security at my home for weeks."

"Fortunately, my family reacted well."

"I'm Dutch, and in the Netherlands, things are resolved by talking."

"The players were unhappy because we had lost against Marítimo and were no longer going to the Champions League."

"At no point did the invaders try to help me."

"Another 20 or 30 came in, in addition to the 6 I saw initially... they saw me bleeding and nobody helped me.”

Note - Just think about one of the last quotes there above if you would for a moment - "I'm Dutch, and in the Netherlands, things are resolved by talking." That's a powerful truth if ever there was one. In the testimony by the attackers we'll learn who admits to attacking the player with a belt and the reason why. Yet at the end of that post you got the underlying sense that things did genuinely spiral out of control quickly and too many people got carried away before they realised the seriousness of the situation and started to flee the sight. 

Rúben Ribeiro

On January 20th, 2020 the former Sporting player Rúben Ribeiro gave his testimony via video link at the 22nd session. "Honestly, I thought I was going to die, it was a horrific scene, they were constantly saying: 'we're going to kill you',” 

"When I got home, I found my wife and children crying, especially the oldest one.”

He explained how on the day after the attack, he took his children out of school and sent his family to Porto.

"They were shouting, saying they were going to kill us. They called us names and said, 'You don't deserve to wear the shirt,' and threatened that if we didn't win on Sunday, we'd see what would happen to us.”

Ribeiro confirms that as they were leaving, the attackers were heard to have said: "Let's go, let's go, things have gone wrong.”

It's worth reminding ourselves that Ribeiro was one of those who chose to rescind his contract with Sporting, he was the only player who wasn't immediately picked up by another club following that decision and would remain a free agent for several months. At the time of the testimony he was also still in dispute with the club who would eventually go through the courts to try claim €60m from the player. He is probably one I feel most sympathy for in the end because his nightmare continued for the best part of four years in one context or another. 

Through all the testimony provided by the staff and players to date you get a real sense of what a harrowing experience it was for all those caught up on the receiving end. How it impacted those there but also here just as importantly the impact on loved ones. We heard of players moving their loved ones away from the city for fear of reprisal attacks not at their place of work, but at the their homes. It must have been a genuinely terrifying ordeal and time for all of them. 

You do however come away with the sense that for some of those who arrived at Alcochete, things has escalated in a manner that wasn't planned in advance which feels important to stress. That is not me excusing their behaviour I hasten to add but it feels important contextually. 

Ultimately though I'm at a loss as to how anyone took part thought their actions might serve as motivation for the Taça de Portugal. Not all the players need an arm round the shoulder approach for motivation but I'm entirely convinced that a mob of masked men bursting into a confined space, attacking certain players, the heat and smoke from flares and everything else combined wasn't actually what they needed as motivation. It was a surprise they played the game after all that happened on that Sunday, it was no surprise however when they lost. 

In our next two posts we will be specifically looking at the testimony of the four players who the defendants present at Alcochete are said to have specifically targeted, namely the two Argentinians Acuña and Battaglia and in addition the two team captains, Patrício and William.