Sporting's new manager Joao Pereira was prevented from entering his technical area in the Champions League clash with Arsenal - because of issues with his coaching licence.

The Portuguese giants welcomed the Premier League side to the Jose Alvalade Stadium in the Champions League on Tuesday evening. It was Sporting’s first European outing since former boss Ruben Amorim quit the club for Manchester United.

Pereira was the man expected to lead the home side after he was named as his compatriot’s permanent replacement. But he was for some reason missing from the official documentation for the game.

Instead his assistant Tiago Teixera was named as Sporting’s head coac.. And it has now been explained exactly why Pereira was missing.

Pereira, a former Sporting defender, has not yet earned his UEFA Pro Licence. It means that he is not allowed to officially oversee games in UEFA competitions which includes the Champions League.

And while he was not allowed to be named as the head coach officially, he still took training, conducted a pre-match press conference, picked the team and barked orders from the dugout. But he was not allowed to enter the technical area.

Funnily enough, it was an issue that Sporting were forced to navigate during Amorim’s time at the helm. He had also not earned his pro licence after a move from Portuguese rivals Braga.

Despite issues with his qualifications, Pereira did not mention that he would not lead the side. Instead, he shared a good luck message that he had received from new United boss Amorim.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, he said: “I spoke with Ruben before his debut game with Manchester United and he wished me good luck. He wished me to have a good career as a coach.
Joao Pereira replaced Ruben Amorim at Sporting Lisbon (
Image:
Getty Images)

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“I answered: ‘If I can do a lot of the things that you have done here, then it’s not a bad start.’ He was always open and he always opened the door for us to watch him. It is a big challenge but I put pressure on myself every day and I challenge myself in every training session and in every match.”

It appeared that the absence of their manager hampered Sporting in their clash with Arsenal as they endured a miserable opening 45 minutes. Goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz put the Gunners in firm control. Gabriel Magalhaes then scored to make it 3-0 on the stroke of half-time. They did, however, pull one back at the beginning of the second half.

The clash with Arsenal followed a dream start to Pereira’s stint as Sporting boss. They thumped minnows Almarante 6-0 in the Portuguese Cup in his first match at the helm..

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