Sporting CP president Bruno de Carvalho has reportedly suspended 19 of the club's first-team players after they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final on Thursday.
Carvalho came out in criticism of certain players following Thursday's defeat in Madrid, leading 19 senior players to share the same message over social media regarding their displeasure in his actions. In response, Sporting's president suspended each of those who spoke against him, per O Jogo (h/t Sport Witness' Lucas Sposito).
Metro's Portuguese football expert, Jan Hagen, suggested this controversy will lead to Carvalho's reign as Sporting president coming to an end.
Hagen added that Bas Dost, who has no social-media representation, remains the only regular starter available for Monday's clash against Pacos de Ferreira, for which the Lions now have only six players.
Among those said to have been suspended from the first team are Portugal internationals Gelson Martins, William Carvalho and Rui Patricio.
Hagen provided a look at Carvalho's Facebook post, as well as the shared post that got a raft of Sporting's stars in trouble with the club's figurehead.
In his post, Carvalho is said to have referred to certain players as "spoiled kids," and he aimed particular blame at defenders Jeremy Mathieu and Fabio Coentrao. He's said to have accused the latter (and Dost) of getting booked on purpose so they'd be suspended for the second-leg meeting with Atletico.
The Lisbon giants are third in the Primeira Liga, six points away from leaders Benfica and with only six matches remaining this season.
Sporting could therefore use every aid they can get in order to boost their end-of-season title prospects, but off-field distractions such as this won't help their cause.
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