The Saltillo Affair () was a series of controversies surrounding the Portugal national football team during its participation in the Mexico 1986 FIFA World Cup. The affair was named after the Mexican city of Saltillo, Coahuila, in which the team was headquartered for the competition, and also the place where the majority of the described events occurred.
The team had qualified for only one previous World Cup tournament, in 1966, in which it finished third. Following a difficult qualification, the 1986 campaign did not start well with the suspicion of doping falling on one of the players who had been selected for the tournament. Although that test was later proven wrong, that was the first of many controversies to affect the team in the following weeks, including threats of strikes from the players, the announcement of a series of demands to the Portuguese Federation and reports of inappropriate behaviour at the team's headquarters. The Saltillo Affair remains a significant controversy in the history of Portuguese football. Nicknaming them Os Infantes, with an anthem sung by José Estebes (a fictional Porto native sports reporter with a stereotypical deep accent and fondness for wine, created by Portuguese humorist Herman José), the Portuguese had high hopes for their national team.
Before the World Cup
One of the key issues initially tackled was how to deal with altitude. While only one of three matches of the group stage were played in altitude – two games in Monterrey (537 m) and one in Guadalajara (1600 m) – it was argued that the team should also prepare for games in Mexico City (2238 m), and so decided that the headquarters should be in Saltillo, neighbouring the England team.
With problems scoring goals during the preparation matches, national team manager José Augusto Torres wanted to call up Rui Jordão, one of the key players two years before in France, who had not played the whole season due to a quarrel with his manager. On the other hand, Manuel Fernandes, who had had one of his best seasons, scoring 30 goals, was not an acceptable option for Torres, to the dismay of Sporting fans. The team was eventually announced on 19 April:
- Goalkeepers: Manuel Bento, Vítor Damas and Jorge Martins
- Defenders: João Pinto, António Morato, Pedro Venâncio, Augusto Inácio, António Veloso, José António, Frederico Rosa, Álvaro Magalhães and Sobrinho
- Midfielders: Jaime Magalhães, Carlos Manuel, Jaime Pacheco, António André, António Sousa, Paulo Futre and José Ribeiro
- Forwards: Diamantino Miranda, Rui Águas and Fernando Gomes
Hours before leaving Portugal on 10 May, Veloso tested positive for Primobolan, an anabolic steroid. This led to initial tensions between players, the FPF, and Benfica, Veloso's club, between claims of innocence and accusations of improper player care, woke Fernando Bandeirinha at 2 o'clock in the morning and rushed him to the airport as a substitute.
Presented as a peaceful city, Saltillo proved to be anything but that. Reports suggested players were interested in shopping in nearby Laredo, Texas, in the United States, during their time off. A local organisation delegate (grandson of a politician, known for being a small-time con artist) offered to go there and purchase the goods for the Portuguese, but after helping himself to the money, never returned.
A game that was staged against a team composed of local workers