The local garage isn't wrong. But he's overstating the case.
If you lived in an area where there was a lot of blown sand or grit that was picked up and sucked into the engine a sports filter isn't going to do as good a job as a standard filter. A dry foam filter is good enough for a racing engine's short life. An oiled foam one has to cleaned and re-oiled periodically, and very few people do.
Do you live in an area, or drive on the sort of roads, where a lot of sand or grit would be being sucked into the engine?