- 4 hours ago
Battered Gyokeres given GOOD REASON to leave Sporting
Robin Bairner
- 13 Jan 2025 11:00 GMT
- 3 min read
Viktor Gyokeres may have indicated that he is ready to spurn a January transfer and remain with Sporting CP, but the Sweden international striker has been given good reason to leave Portugal… with the referees to blame.
Gyokeres’ has attracted attention from Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea off the back of an outstanding start to the season with the Lisbon club.
Across all competitions for Los Leones, he has scored 32 goals in 30 appearances while he has also contributed six assists.
READ MORE: Premier League January transfers 2025: All the Done Deals
STATS
Viktor Gyökeres
F (C)
Sporting CP
Viktor Gyökeres
F (C)
Sporting CP
Such outstanding production has teams across Europe taking note, with PSG, Barcelona and Bayern Munich all credited with an interest as well as the Premier League trio.
Now the No.9, who was on target as Sporting were beaten on penalties by Benfica in the Allianz Cup final on Saturday, has been told he might be wise to leave Portugal for the good of his body. Gyokeres, it is claimed, is not getting the protection he needs from referees.
“Unfortunately, it is now increasingly 'trendy' not to call fouls that Gyokeres suffers,” Tito Arantes Fontes, former president of Sporting’s Stromp Group of fans, wrote for the fanzine Sporting, relayed by Record.
“We need to change our behaviour quickly, to put an end to this disastrous 'trend' and do it now!
“Football has 17 laws... and not 18. In other words, the truth is that no new law was added to exempt referees from calling a foul when Gyokeres is grabbed, pulled, tripped, and/or kicked! So let's comply with the 'Laws of the Game' which are 17... and not 18!”
Kicked out of Portugal?
Gyokeres is currently the third most-fouled player in Portugal’s top flight, having drawn 43 fouls so far this season, but if he is not given the protection he requires from referees, could this lead to him making a premature exit from Sporting?
The 26-year-old Sweden star has previously expressed his frustration with the fans after they threw objects at the Sporting players amidst a four-game losing streak, but he has not indicated that he is unhappy with the treatment defenders are giving him.
Nevertheless, his prospects of picking up an injury are higher if defenders are being allowed free reign to physically harass him. In turn, this could jeopardise his prospects of landing the big summer move to the likes of Man Utd, Arsenal or Chelsea that he is dreaming of.
