The two minutes that distracted a nation
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Perhaps the shortest "match" in the history of football finished without a goal yesterday - but not without argument. Two Portuguese First Division clubs, Sporting Lisbon and Chaves, played before a handful of fans for just over two minutes yesterday to complete a match suspended 12 days ago.
However, the final whistle did not end the controversy over the league game, which had been left unfinished because of a power cut. The 145 seconds of play brought no goals and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
"It just shows the state of shame into which our game has sunk," the Sporting coach, Carlos Queiroz, said after the two minutes of action, played out before a near-empty stadium but shown live on national television.
Both sides claimed that they should have been awarded the full points for the suspended match, charging the other with breaking rules. Chaves said the Lisbon club should have turned up to complete the match the day after its suspension. Sporting said Chaves were to blame for the failure of the lighting.
Both teams announced after the game that they would lodge formal protests with the Council of Justice, Portuguese football's highest authority. Sporting had to fit in the 1,000-kilometre round trip to the northern town of Chaves between a Portuguese Cup tie at home to Boavista on Wednesday and a vital championship game with the league leaders Porto, also at home, tomorrow. Sporting are in second place in the league, five points behind Porto.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments