Sergio Conceicao accused Mikel Arteta of insulting his family after Arsenal beat his side on penalties – and it’s not the first time Porto’s manager has made such a claim after a big European defeat.
The Gunners won 4-2 in the shootout after Leandro Trossard’s goal put the two-legged Champions League last-16 tie level after extra time.
But an irate Conceicao seemed more concerned with a perceived slight from his Spanish counterpart, saying: “Let him worry about training his team, which has more than enough quality to play a lot better.”
Former Portugal winger Conceicao is known as a fiery figure, having been criticised on multiple occasions for launching visceral attacks on referees.
As a player, he was banned for three years for spitting on an opponent and assaulting a referee, although he only served four and a half months of it, with the rest suspended.
And as a manager, during his side’s 2-0 Super Cup defeat to Benfica this season he was sent off for his behaviour, before continuing to berate referee Luis Godinho, saying: “F___ you… you’re an artist… biased… you’re weak, weak, weak, very weak”.
There was a similar story from the 2020 Portuguese Cup final, which his side won 2-1, he confronted referee Artur Soares Dias, reportedly saying: “You have no character”.
The Arteta row is not the first time Conceicao has accused rival managers of personally insulting him – here is the list of every other time he has alleged some personal slight against him.
Mikel Arteta
Arsenal 1-0 Porto, 12 March 2024
After the Arsenal defeat, Conceicao called the result “unjust”, before saying: “Mikel Arteta turned to the bench during the game and insulted my family in Spanish. At the end, I told him that the person he insulted is no longer among us.
“Let him worry about training his team, which has more than enough quality to play a lot better.”
The Arsenal boss denied the accusations.
Thomas Tuchel
Chelsea 0-1 Porto, 13 April 2021
Conceicao accused former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel of telling him to “f___ off” after the pair’s 2020-21 Champions League quarter-final.
Chelsea would go on the win the tournament, and were reportedly shocked by Porto staff’s behaviour during the second leg at Stamford Bridge, which the visitors won 1-0.
Tuchel and his players were allegedly heckled with “filho da puta”, which translates as “son of a b____”, with many Chelsea staff saying it was the worst behaviour they had seen in a decade.
Conceicao said of Tuchel: “I was insulted by this gentleman who is next door… My English is not perfect, there’s no point in talking about it. There was no word exchange because I was focused on the game. I don’t know why [he had] his reaction.”
A Chelsea spokesman responded: “This allegation is complete nonsense.”
Pep Guardiola
Man City 3-1 Porto, 21 October 2020
When Man City beat Porto earlier that same season, Conceicao said once again he had been insulted by none other than Pep Guardiola.
Conceicao said: “I’ve got a lot to learn from Pep Guardiola in the way he pressures referees, talks to opposition players and opposition dugout. He’s a fantastic example. I have to learn this. We were angels compared to the other dugout.
“He spoke about our country using ugly words. Guardiola’s attitude was extremely unpleasant. The whole Man City dugout was, because if anybody should have been complaining it was the Porto bench, because we were extremely hard done by.”
