City and Porto players brawl in tunnel after Guehi elbow goes unpunished at half-time

Manchester City and Porto players clashed in a tunnel brawl at half-time of their Champions League meeting at the Estádio do Dragão, after referee officials declined to card Marc Guehi for an elbow that left Porto midfielder Gabriel Veiga bloodied on the pitch.

The incident occurred late in the first half, with the score level at 0-0. Guehi, the England international centre-back, rose to win a header but his elbow connected with Veiga’s face as the pair challenged for the ball. Veiga was left on the ground covered in blood, sparking an immediate confrontation among players from both sides.

Despite the severity of the contact, the match official issued no card to Guehi — a decision that drew fierce reactions from players and supporters alike. As the half-time whistle sounded, the simmering anger spilled into the tunnel, where security personnel were forced to intervene.

Gabriel Clarke, a reporter present at the Estádio do Dragão, described the scenes at close range. “That anger triggered by the Veiga-Guehi incident, the pushing and the shoving, the bad-tempered behaviour, continued down the tunnel as the players came off for half-time,” he said. “Security for both teams were involved separating the backroom staff and players from both sides as they entered the mouth of the tunnel.”

Clarke added that Veiga himself was among the most animated participants. “Gabi Veiga had to be pulled away, to an extent, by one of the Porto staff. A lot of shoving, a lot of venting. We’ll see if it’s in the referee’s report.”

The failure to dismiss Guehi drew widespread criticism on social media, with many supporters arguing the elbow warranted a straight red card. Whether the tunnel incident features in the match official’s report — and whether UEFA takes any retrospective action — remains to be seen.