How Pepe Hid A Bullet In His Sock: Former Real Madrid center back, Pepe, drew his name into further infamy in the league game between Sporting and Porto on the 11th of February, 2022.
Now, any matchup between these two Portuguese giants is always one to watch. They are 2 of the biggest clubs in the country, and right now, they are both first and second on the Primeira Liga table.
You could argue that that game meant more to Sporting as they are the ones with some catching up to do, but Porto were definitely not resting on their laurels. They gave just as much as they received in that game, and it ended up in a draw.
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Porto, who were top of the table going into the match, found themselves 2 goals down in the 34th minute, but managed to find a way back into the game with a goal in either half.
But the eventual scoreline wasn’t even the talking point of the day. That match saw 5 players get sent off. Yes, 5 red cards in just that one game; 2 for Porto and 3 for Sporting. 1 of those red cards came during the game, while the other 4 came from a bust up that happened after the whistle for full time had gone.
There was a whole raucous on the pitch which saw players go head-to-head with each other. And of course, when something like this happens, you expect Pepe to be an active part of it.
You remember him from Madrid, don’t you? When the center-back was in his prime, he was known to be the king of shithousery on the pitch. Back when Sergio Ramos was the calmer of the dreaded defensive pairing at Real.
And it seemed like he always saved his biggest acts for the biggest games. Back then, there was hardly a Clasico game that went by without Pepe going head-to-head with a player or taunting another.
So, you come to Portugal, a mini-brawl ensues in a game between first and second on the table, of course, you expect the veteran to pitch in.
And he did. In more ways than one.
While players were picking fights with each other during the post-fulltime chaos, Pepe decided to go for bigger fish. The veteran Portuguese defender attacked one of Sporting CP’s directors, Hugo Viana. And what he did, according to the rule books, qualifies as violent conduct.
The Porto captain immediately saw red for that action, but apparently, he could be facing more than just a few games on the sidelines. His case will be heard, but the 39-year-old could be facing 2 months to 2 years away from professional football.
But it doesn’t even end there. Earlier in this same game, Pepe had hidden a bullet in his socks. Yes, you heard right! A bullet in his socks!
Apparently, the bullet was thrown into the pitch by someone from the stands, and Pepe immediately picked it up and tucked it in his socks in a bid to hide it from the match officials. But things did not exactly go as planned for him, as the bullet dropped to the pitch, and some of the opposing players saw it and alerted the ref.
Ricardo Esgaio, the Sporting right back, was the main person who was trying to bring the referee’s attention to the bullet. But the ref thought he was doing too much and gave him a yellow card for his troubles.
But his efforts were not wasted, as Pepe had to eventually hand the bullet over to the ref after it had been discovered.
It is still unclear why Pepe attempted to hide that bullet, though. Maybe it was to protect the club he has played close to 150 games for; a club he obviously loves so much. Because reports are saying that because that bullet was discovered in Porto’s home ground, Estadio do Dragao could be closed down for some time as punishment.
But we want to hear from you, though. Did Pepe do the right thing?
Let us know what you think in the comments.
