Third tier team Lusitânia Lourosa left the stadium on foot following a Portuguese Cup defeat after the club allegedly sent the team bus away, an incident described by the footballers' union on Monday as "lamentable."
Lourosa lost their first round tie 1-0 to local rivals São João de Ver on Sunday and videos on Twitter showed the squad walking back to their training ground, over three miles away.
| O Lusitânia de Lourosa foi eliminado da Taça de Portugal pelo São João de Ver, e como punição, o presidente do clube, Hugo Mendes, obrigou a delegação a voltar pro CT a pé (5km, 1h): "Vocês não são dignos de viajar no ônibus do clube".pic.twitter.com/DLUOXSpIQY
— Caio Felix (@OCaioFelix) September 28, 2020
Se a moda pega...
Lusitânia de Lourosa foi jogar ao vizinho, S. João de Ver, para a Taça de Portugal e perdeu o jogo...
O presidente do clube não gostou e mandou o autocarro regressar vazio...
Jogadores, técnicos e afins, fizeram o regresso a pé +/- 5 km... pic.twitter.com/NPgkmvrLWq— Satierf.R (@SatierfR) September 28, 2020
Club president Hugo Mendes told the Jornal de Noticias that the team took the decision as a form of self-criticism.
"There was no punishment," he said.
However, the Portuguese players' union (SAFP) said the club had ordered the team bus to leave.
"The union expects nothing less from the president of Lourosa than an immediate apology to the squad for this lamentable episode which does nothing to dignify Portuguese football," it said in a statement.
The Portuguese Cup features 165 teams from the top four tiers of the league system, with the top flight sides entering in the third round.
