‘The Gates of Hell Shook’: Controversial ‘Porto’ President Passes Away

2025-02-17 17:47 © scanpix

The sad news has shaken Portuguese football – the former longtime president of the "Porto" team, Pinto da Costa, has passed away.

The 87-year-old official held his position for 42 years until he lost the elections last year to Andre Villas-Boas.

Over many seasons, the "Porto" team managed to win a remarkable 69 significant trophies, including two UEFA Champions League titles, two Europa League trophies, and one UEFA Super Cup.

However, P. da Costa was also involved in other activities.

In the 2000s, the "Golden Whistle" scandal emerged, where the Portuguese name was mentioned in a match-fixing, referee bribery, and influence-peddling scandal. In 2009, the president was acquitted due to a lack of evidence.

Moreover, when A. Villas-Boas took over, only 8 thousand euros remained in the "Porto" team's treasury instead of the expected 15 million euros.

Following P. da Costa's passing, condolences were expressed by many clubs from the Old Continent, except for two fierce rivals of the Porto team – Lisbon's "Benfica" and "Sporting" teams.

And today, as Portugal was shaken by a 4.9 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale, messages flooded the country's social networks suggesting that the allegedly scandalous president shook the gates of hell upon entering.