Father beaten in front of his children by Portuguese police after Benfica's league title win against Guimaraes

The children's grandfather was also punched twice by police as he attempted to intervene

Police beat the father in front of his kids as he walked back from the the match that secured the Portuguese title for Benfica (ITN)

This is the moment a father was beaten by Portuguese police in front of his two young sons as they walked back from watching their football team win the Portuguese League Championship in Guimaraes.

The incident also saw the boys’ elderly grandfather punched twice as he tried to protect the man.

The grandfather tries to intervene but he is hit twice in the face by the officer.

The two children are held back as their father is tackled to the ground and beaten multiple times with the officer’s baton.

The footage quickly went viral after the weekend causing shock across the social media sites.

This prompted the release of a statement by the police that said that Magalhaes had spat at a police and shown "disobedience towards authority".

An investigation is currently being carried out by the district prosecutor and the country's interior ministry looking into whether the police officers abused their power.