Clear path to goal, only the opposing goalkeeper in front of you and yet Porto’s attacker called off the attack in the game against GD Estoril Praia because his opponent had been injured.
Porto’s keeper Diogo Costa initiated the counterattack with a long ball from his own box while Porto were leading 1-0. Pepê, who plays for Brazil, was in a race against Pedro Amaral. While trying to clear the ball with his head, he stumbled and injured himself.
Amaral immediately grabbed his right thigh and eventually went down in his own box. Pepe now had a clear path and only keeper Joel to beat. But to everyone’s surprise, the 27-year-old simply stopped in his tracks when he saw his opponent on the ground and stayed in the box.
“I heard Amaral’s scream,” Pepê later said about the scene in the 23rd minute with the score 1-0. Aware of the great gesture of fair play, numerous opponents approached Pepe, high-fived him or gave him a hug. Amaral had to be substituted after a short period of treatment.
Pepê: “I was saddened”
“If it had been me, I would have wanted them to do the same,” Pepê said on the club’s website. “I was saddened to see a colleague like that, so I stopped play so it could be noticed.”
For Porto coach Vitor Bruno, it was “the greatest hymn to football we’ve had here today. I know I can be criticized, but I really like it when my players are honest with themselves and with opponents. He made the right decision and was rewarded for it.”
Because from Porto’s point of view, things went perfectly from there. Pepê got his goal minutes later, when he scored to make it 2-0 (28′). Galeno scored twice after the break to make the final score 4-0.