In a press conference, the president of Petro de Luanda, Tomás Faria, said that his team decided to finish the game, under protest, so as not to make the same mistake as the opposing team.
He referred that, this Tuesday, the club will formalize the protest, in writing, with the Angolan Football Federation, demanding defeat to Sagrada Esperança by abandoning the field and consequent stoppage of the game for more than 20 minutes.
To support the protest, the runners-up resort to point 1 of article 55 of the FAF regulation, which recommends that "the club whose team deliberately leaves the field, after the official game has started, or has collective behavior in it that prevents the referee who proceeds and concludes, is punished with defeat and a fine corresponding to between 15,000 and 20,000 UCF."
The controversy broke out in the 35th minute of the game, after a penalty awarded in favor of Petro de Luanda, who were losing 1-0 at the time.
Sagrada Esperança players and technical team withdrew from the pitch under strong protests, inciting their supporters, who snatched seats from the 11 de Novembro stadium, in Luanda, and threw them onto the pitch.
After more than 20 minutes of appeals by sports and political entities present at the stadium, the players returned to the field and Brazilian Tiago Azulão missed the penalty, after a long time of waiting.
The president of Sagrada Esperança, José Muacabalo, apologized publicly for the acts of vandalism carried out by 'diamantiferous' fans.
