Ahead of the Portuguese Cup, Rui Borges hits back at José Mourinho | OneFootball

In anticipation of the match against Santa Clara, which will take place next Thursday, Rui Borges addressed Sporting’s reunion with João Pinheiro, who was chosen to officiate this Taça de Portugal match. The coach ended up responding to José Mourinho’s recent criticisms.

"Complain? I haven’t done that. The only game last season I spoke about was with AVS. I’m not going to talk. I continue to say that our referees are among the best. They make mistakes like the others, sometimes it hurts, but I still think they are among the best. Tomorrow’s referee is one of the best Portuguese," said the coach.

Still on the match against Santa Clara, Rui Borges addressed the heated tempers at the end of the last game between the two teams: "Emotional stability is always important. What happened, the confusion, is part of the game—two teams wanting to win, one that lost in the final minutes. There’s always a bit of back-and-forth. It’s not just in that game. Sometimes it’s not pretty, but it’s the heat of the moment. It’s over now. Tomorrow is a different game between two teams that really want to win. Whoever goes through will reach the quarter-finals. These are factors that can make the game intense, but only in terms of competitiveness. It’s a team that gets a lot of cards in the league. We have to be prepared."

To reach this stage of the cup, Sporting has already eliminated Paços de Ferreira, 3-2 (after extra time), and, in the most recent round, Marinhense, in a match played at Estádio José Alvalade, which the Lions won comfortably, 3-0.

The green and white emblem returns to the pitch next Thursday, December 18, against Santa Clara, in a match valid for the round of 16 of the Taça de Portugal. The match against the team led by Vasco Matos will be played at 18:45, away, in the Azores.

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