Porto Winger Chose Counter-Strike Over a Match – Team Lost, Coach Fired

Pepe has sparked the anger of Porto fans over computer games. But not the 41-year-old veteran, who has earned the right to do whatever he wants since last summer.

Instead, it's the 27-year-old Brazilian winger. He was caught playing Counter-Strike 2 on match days twice.

Pepe initially denied everything and then deleted his post, perhaps fearing a ban on his CS account

On January 12, Porto lost 0-2 to Nacional, with Pepe subbing off in the 43rd minute. Portuguese media Arena RTP said his gaming habits may have played a role. His Faceit profile (a gaming platform) showed that he played until at least 2:30 AM — while the match kicked off at 3:30 PM.

For the next game against Gil Vicente on January 19 (another loss, 1-3), coach Vítor Bruno left Pepe out of the squad entirely, simply stating that the player "excluded himself."

Pepe didn’t seem too bothered — he was back on Counter-Strike that same evening at 10:37 PM, according to Faceit.

However, fans were not pleased. Pepe had to defend himself on social media:

"It’s dirty of some people to claim I didn’t watch the match. I watched it from start to finish with my family and friends. They say I was playing? I was at Dragão Stadium, but my account was active. Or did I bring a laptop there? It’s easier to judge than to seek the truth!"

Shortly after, he deleted the post — possibly fearing a ban on his well-established Faceit account (where he has played 1,577 matches). Faceit accounts are verified with ID documents, and using someone else’s profile is strictly forbidden.

Porto's Coach Fired After Three Straight Losses – Had a Conflict with Pepe

Vítor Bruno took over Porto last summer, but he was sacked after three consecutive defeats with a 1-6 aggregate score. Despite the team still sitting third in the league, just four points behind Sporting, the disastrous January run sealed his fate.

First, Porto crashed out of the League Cup semi-finals against Sporting (0-1), then came the two league losses — games Pepe was seemingly unprepared for.

But the Brazilian winger had a different take on his exclusion. In the same post he later deleted, he wrote:

"Pepe isn’t here because he doesn’t want to be here" (quoting Vítor Bruno). And this is coming from the man who suspended me from training for kicking the ball too hard into a small goal. The same man who made me train alone all week.

I’ve always been honest and knew I was going through a rough patch. I needed to improve, but I never stopped being a professional or showed disrespect to anyone or the club, as some are saying."

Interestingly, Pepe has already shown sportsmanship this season. In November, while leading 1-0 against Estoril, he stopped an attack even though he was through on goal — because the defender marking him pulled a muscle and collapsed. This gesture earned him applause from the fans and gratitude from the opposing players.

Perhaps with a new coach, Pepe will find common ground — and won’t have to resort to Counter-Strike during matchdays.

Published by Patrick Jane
23.01.2025