Pepe's amazing 11-year red card run ends after 40-man brawl in Porto v Sporting

Porto defender Pepe was one of several players shown a red card after a fiery Primeira Liga game against Sporting descended into a 40-man brawl,. bringing his 11-year record to an end.

Players, staff, stewards and even ball boys got involved as things got nasty, with referee Joao Pinheiro responding by showing red to two players from each side.

The visitors had already been reduced to 10 men at the Dragao, with former Liverpool defender Sebastian Coates picking up a second booking, but things got ugly after the final whistle.

Sporting duo Tabata and Joao Palhinha were shown red for their part in the scenes, while Pepe and Agustin Marchesin saw red for Porto.

Pepe has earned a reputation for picking up cards during his career, but, remarkably, this was the veteran's first sending off in a league game since way back in 2011.

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The red was Pepe's 13th in his club career but his first of any kind since returning to Porto in 2019, and his first in a league game for more than a decade.

He was dismissed for Real Madrid against Sevilla for two first-half bookings in December 2011, his only league dismissal that season and one of only three he earned in La Liga.

There have been further sendings off in the interim - most notably for Portugal against Germany at the 2014 World Cup and one in the Turkish Cup for Besiktas - but none in a league game.

After the final whistle blew, players and club staff were involved in a mass brawl with referee Pinheiro attempting to keep things under control.

The brawl continued for a number of minutes, with efforts to calm down the situation falling on deaf ears, and the Daily Star reports that there were even scraps between ball boys.

The red card was brandished several times as tempers flared, while there was also an incident involving Sporting defender Matheus Reis and one of the Porto stewards.

"Let there be the same investigation that was carried out with Nuno Santos and punish whoever has to be punished," Sporting boss Amorim told Sport TV (via Record ), referring to the red card shown to Sporting's Santos against Benfica in 2020.

"It's a bad example but it's everyone's fault, not only of the players," he added, acknowledging a full week of stories which fanned the flames before kickoff.

It even spread to the presidential suite, with Sporting president Frederico Varandas confronted post-game by ex-Porto 'keeper Vitor Baia in the car park after post-game comments on Porto's 84-year-old president, Pinto da Costa.

"This game reflects, for me, what the last 40 years of Portuguese football has been about," said Varandas. "Of an era where they (Porto) have a president called Pinto da Costa."

Sporting won the Primeira Liga last season and will take on Manchester City in the last 16 of the Champions League.

They remain six points behind league leaders Porto after throwing away a two-goal lead at the Dragao.

The first leg of the game against the Premier League champions takes place on Tuesday in Lisbon, with the reverse fixture in Manchester scheduled for March 9.