"Let's congratulate Veloso. This is his first game after joining Sporting Lisbon, and he's already fully integrated into the squad! What a perfect start!"
"Veloso ends the suspense with a header and buries his old club! The abandoned son gets his revenge!"
Sporting Lisbon fans erupted in celebration.
But Veloso, the goalscorer, didn't celebrate right away.
Kai sprinted over to him immediately.
"Aren't you celebrating?"
"Huh? I… is that okay?" Veloso looked confused, unsure whether he should celebrate against his former club.
"Don't be like that," Kai said, grabbing his shoulder. "A real man has to be brave enough to say goodbye to the past. You didn't betray them — they betrayed you. If they wrong you, you hit back. Bottling it up like a coward isn't honest."
Kai dragged Veloso toward the Benfica end.
The area around the away stand suddenly went quiet.
Kai grabbed Veloso's jersey from the hem and yanked it off in one smooth motion.
"He once belonged to you," Kai shouted, hurling the shirt toward the Benfica fans, "but now he belongs to us!"
Instantly—
BOOOOO!
The stands exploded with fury.
Benfica fans cursed them like crazy, every dirty word imaginable flying through the air.
Veloso stared at the furious faces in front of him.
All the frustration, all the humiliation he had swallowed for years finally burst out.
"Ahhh! To hell with Benfica!"
"Fuck you!"
"So what if I'm overweight?!"
"You can dump me, but you don't get to humiliate me!"
"Fuck all of you!"
Generosity?
Loyalty?
Bullshit.
All lies.
Club executives change every few years. Coaches come and go.
Who exactly are fans loyal to?
The "club"?
Don't kid yourself.
Policies, direction, money — all decided by suits in offices.
Loyalty to some abstract logo is just self-deception.
It makes sense to be loyal to people — someone who shared your sweat, your time, your memories.
But being loyal to a faceless organization that changes leadership every season?
That's just stupid.
Unless you actually have influence over it.
European fans used to have that power.
Now they're slowly losing it.
Most just don't want to admit it…
Until the day they get betrayed.
Veloso was exactly that kind of die-hard Benfica kid.
And Benfica tossed him out like trash.
He could've accepted being cut.
But when fans and club officials insulted his father and family because of his "weight"?
That crossed the line.
That shit was unforgivable.
The Benfica supporters were completely losing their minds.
Some even tried climbing over the railings to jump down and go after Veloso.
Benfica's players rushed forward too.
Provoking their fans was the same as provoking them.
Both teams crowded together.
Another fight was seconds away.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The referee stormed in, blowing his whistle like crazy.
No hesitation.
Red card — Kai.
Yellow card — Veloso.
Veloso already had one earlier.
Two yellows.
Red.
Both sent off.
Sporting fans exploded in protest.
But objectively speaking…
The decision was fair.
They did provoke the away fans first.
Coach Amorim rushed over to argue, but it was useless.
For the last ten minutes, Sporting had only nine men.
Yet somehow, with pure grit and stubbornness, they blocked every Benfica attack.
They defended like lunatics.
Threw bodies at every ball.
And unbelievably held the score at 4–1.
Final whistle.
Game over.
Post-match interviews followed.
Benfica players were clearly bitter.
Rúben Amorim:
"Veloso and I are good friends, but I can't forgive that behavior. Benfica gave him his first chance to become a professional."
Pereira:
"Kai went too far. We're opponents, fine. But you don't provoke fans. That's not right. I know he's not a bad guy, but this wasn't acceptable."
Vilela:
"This disgraces Benfica's academy. Veloso will never be welcome at the Estádio da Luz again."
Weir:
"A red card isn't enough. Kai and Veloso both deserve additional suspensions."
The Portuguese media went crazy.
Former Benfica star Pinto said:
"This is shocking and disappointing. Players should never treat fans like that."
Nuno Gomes:
"Veloso didn't even want to celebrate at first. Kai pushed him into it. Encouraging teammates to do something wrong like that is shameful. If I were playing, I'd tackle him hard."
Even Porto striker Jardel criticized Kai:
"It's outrageous. He didn't even score, yet he celebrated like that. Veloso's emotions are understandable, but Kai had no right. Suspend him for a year if necessary. Young players can't learn this kind of behavior. It's poison for football."
For a while, Kai became public enemy number one.
Rumors spread that the Portuguese FA had called an emergency meeting regarding his "attack on fans."
The storm was brewing.
Just when things looked ready to explode—
Sporting's academy director Trigueira held a press conference.
And he dropped a bomb.
"Sporting will not punish Kai," he said calmly. "In my eyes, what he did was heroic."
Sporting fans cheered wildly.
Trigueira continued:
"We have every reason to believe Benfica is deliberately shifting public pressure onto a young player just to cover up their own failure in youth development."
"Let's not forget — this match wasn't only about points. It was also about the strength of our academies."
"And today, we won. Clearly."
"Also, I personally see nothing wrong with Veloso's reaction. His whole family are Benfica fans. He grew up there."
"But do you know the official reason Benfica released him?"
The reporters fell silent.
"No one knows?"
Trigueira smiled coldly.
"It says… 'overweight.'"
The room exploded.
Because if that was true—
Then Veloso's anger suddenly made perfect sense.
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