FC Porto manager Sergio Conceicao has accused Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta of insulting his family after their fiercely contested second leg tie of the Round Of 16 in the UEFA Champions League on March 12.
Arsenal had edged past Porto to make it to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2010 and Conceicao was seen in a heated argument with Arteta after the match.
Speaking to the reporters, as quoted by ESPN, the Porto boss would then accuse the Spaniard for insulting his family. Conceicao would then say that Arteta should be focusing on training his team instead.
“During the game and towards the bench he, in Spanish, I don’t know if this is to do with Spanish managers, he insulted my family.”
“And then at the end, I said attention, who he insults is not between us, he should focus on training his team because they have a lot of individual qualities to do that.”
ESPN would go on to reveal that Arteta has denied the claims made by his Porto counterpart. This is not the first time Conceicao has made such accusations. The Porto boss had accused Thomas Tuchel of insulting him after Chelsea had beaten Porto in 2021.
He would also target Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola with a similar claim after a group stage game in 2020.
What happened in the 2nd leg clash between Arsenal and Porto?
Arsenal’s journey in the Champions League saw a thrilling chapter unfold as they faced Porto, culminating in a nerve-wracking penalty shootout victory that propelled them into the quarter-finals for the first time since 2010.
The tie was delicately poised after Arsenal lost the first leg 1-0 in Portugal, with Galeno scoring a late winner. However, the return leg at the Emirates Stadium witnessed Leandro Trossard leveling the aggregate score with a goal beautifully set up by Martin Odegaard.
The match extended into penalties after a 1-1 aggregate deadlock. David Raya emerged as the hero, saving two penalties, while Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, and Declan Rice confidently converted their shots, securing a 4-2 shootout win.
