Varandas hits out at refereeing noise, targets Benfica and Porto | OneFootball

Frederico Varandas spoke publicly about the recent refereeing controversies in Portuguese football, vehemently criticizing the surrounding atmosphere and accusing the way incidents involving Sporting are scrutinized, contrasting them with similar situations involving other clubs, namely Benfica.

“Sporting, in victory or defeat, maintains its stance. We also make mistakes, there are days when we are not at our best, but we never shy away from what I believe is the correct way to manage a sports club,” began the Sporting president, emphasizing the obligation to protect the institution's reputation. “I am obliged to defend the good name of Sporting. Those who don't feel it, aren't of good people. I will say as many times as necessary that we have to step back.”

Varandas then outlined a historical overview of refereeing in Portugal, arguing that the current context is different from the past. “For decades, refereeing was not independent, it had owners: FC Porto and Benfica, with Pinto da Costa and Luís Filipe Vieira. We grew up in a football where the error, which is human, was completely disproportionate,” he stated, before highlighting a structural change. “Since Fernando Gomes and Luciano Gonçalves, refereeing has no owner.”

The Sporting leader also rejected the notion that refereeing has worsened. “Refereeing has errors, of course, but what I do not accept is being told that it is worse and that it used to be very good. Worse in what? Today human errors are proportional among the clubs and it seems that people are not prepared to see errors in favor of Sporting.”

As an example, Varandas mentioned the match with Santa Clara, where a penalty was awarded to Sporting which he considers was wrongly given. “For me, it is not a penalty. VAR was wrong, told João Pinheiro there was a penalty and then they spent 14 minutes, inexplicably, checking for offside. The president of Sporting said it was not a penalty. What happened? A national scandal. Nothing else was talked about.”

Varandas contrasted this episode with recent incidents involving Benfica. “24 hours before that game there was a Farense-Benfica where, at 0-0, I saw a simulation by Benfica. The referee wrongly awarded a free kick, and it led to a goal. Absolute silence. A month ago, a wrongly awarded corner led to a goal for Sporting and it was a media cyclone,” he criticized, blaming part of the media coverage. “A large part of the media is at fault because I don't see this treatment with other clubs.”

The president also questioned what the reaction would have been if an identical penalty to the one awarded in the Famalicão–Benfica match had favored Sporting. “What would it be like if it were for Sporting? Benfica has already had nine penalties, go see if there were errors or not.”

Finally, Varandas expanded the reflection to the international scene, recalling that mistakes are part of football, even at the highest level. “Sporting plays in the Champions League, with the best referees in the world. In the game with Napoli, a player should have been sent off. With Marseille, there were three major errors. At home with Club Brugge, there was a red card for Hjulmand that was nothing. These are international referees,” he concluded. “Is it a mistake by a Portuguese referee, considered the best, that calls into question all refereeing? This is a completely absurd level of noise.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.