PLDC - The Portuguese head coach of Iran’s Esteghlal has faced a new punishment for allegedly insulting a military official back in Portugal.
According to Portuguese media outlets, the Disciplinary Council (CD) of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) has handed Sa Pinto a one-month ban.
Called “liar” by Sa Pinto, a GNR captain had lodged a complaint against the coach.
The Disciplinary Council issued the ruling over “damage to honor and reputation and slanderous denunciation” of the military force.
Reacting to the story, Sa Pinto said in a press conference on Wednesday in Tehran that the report published by Iranian media on the issue was wrong. Some Iranian newspapers had claimed that the coach was sentenced to one-month imprisonment.
Meanwhile, according to Mohammad Hossein Zarandi who is in charge of Esteghlal’s media affairs, the ruling bans Sa Pinto from sitting on the bench for one month in Portugal, not in Iran. He also said the coach’s lawyer is working on the case as he is entitled to appeal the decision.
The ruling came a week after the Portuguese had kicked the stretcher of the Iranian Red Crescent Society in a match against Malavan in Iran, facing harsh criticism and also a fine for the move.