| Event | 1995–96 Taça de Portugal | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Date | 18 May 1996 | ||||||
| Venue | Estádio Nacional,Oeiras | ||||||
| Referee | Vítor Pereira (Lisbon)[citation needed] | ||||||
←1995 1997 → | |||||||
The1996 Taça de Portugal final was the final match of the1995–96 Taça de Portugal, the 56th season of theTaça de Portugal, the premier Portuguesefootball cup competition organized by thePortuguese Football Federation (FPF). The match was played on 18 May 1996 at theEstádio Nacional inOeiras, and opposed two Primeira Liga sidesBenfica andSporting CP. Benfica defeated Sporting CP 3–1 to claim the Taça de Portugal for a twenty third time in their history.[1]
InPortugal, the final was televised live onRTP. As a result of winning the Taça de Portugal, Benfica qualified for the1996 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, where they faced1995–96 Primeira Divisão winnersPorto.[citation needed]
| Benfica | 3–1 | Sporting CP |
|---|---|---|
Airez 9'João Pinto 39',67' | [citation needed] | Xavier 83' (pen.) |
        Benfica |      Sporting CP |
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| 1995–96 Taça de Portugal Winners |
|---|
| Benfica 23rd Title |
|
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During thisderby match, Rui Mendes (a supporter of Sporting) died on site[2] after he was hit inside the stadium by avery light thrown by Hugo Inácio (a member of theNo Name Boys). The death happened just after the first goal of the match, when Benfica'sMauro Airez scored 9 minutes into the game, during the subsequent celebrations of Benfica fans in the stadium.[3] Despite the incident in the stands, the match continued.[2]
Following the death, Sporting paid for Mendes' funeral, and the Portuguese Football Federation, showing solidarity with Mendes' family, gave them a subsidy of around 1,650 escudos, 10 per cent of the gross revenue from the match between the Portugal and the Ukraine national football teams, which took place on 5 October 1996.
Mendes was 36 years old and father of two children.[4] Inácio was sentenced to four years in prison in 1998. After escaping from prison in 2000, he was captured in 2011.[5] According to witnesses, including a former member of No Name Boys, the fatal injuries resulted from a deliberate action to cause bodily harm to members ofJuventude Leonina (supporters of Sporting), who were at the opposite end of the stadium.[6] The Portuguese Football Federation was ordered to pay 235,000 euros, instead of the €150,000 initially planned to the relatives of Mendes.[7]
