• Serbian coach has contract cancelled by new president • Four of Portugal’s national team have terminated deals

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Sporting have sacked Sinisa Mihajlovic nine days after he was hired as the Portuguese club’s coach.

The 49-year-old Serb was appointed on a three-year contract by the then president Bruno de Carvalho. However De Carvalho was voted out on Sunday after nine players quit the club in protest over an attack by a group of supporters last month.

Sporting meltdown casts shadow over Portugal’s World Cup buildup Read more

“Sporting have decided to end Mihajlovic’s probationary period and cancel his contract,” said the new president, José Sousa Cintra, at a news conference on Wednesday. “We will quickly seek a new coach, who should be presented by Monday.”

Sporting finished third in the Primeira Liga last season, missing out on a Champions League place on the final day of the season, and reached the Europa League quarter-finals.

Carvalho left Sporting after 71% of the club’s paying members voted for him to leave. He described it as “one of the greatest frauds ever seen” and said he would “quit the club for ever”.

Four members of Portugal’s national team – Rui Patrício, William Carvalho, Gelson Martins and Bruno Fernandes – were among those to terminate their Sporting contracts this month after the attack on players and staff by a group of 50 fans. Patrício has since joined Wolverhampton Wanderers.