Braz Frade backs Benfica, claims refs favour one club | OneFootball

João Braz Frade criticized the refereeing of the last Benfica game and calls for urgent action from Rui Costa and the Portuguese Football Federation. The former vice-president joined the chorus of criticism that has marked Portuguese football in recent days, stating that Sporting has been the most favored and demands explanations from the Refereeing Council, led by Luciano Gonçalves.

“When there are bad results, the blame is on the president. In refereeing, it's the same. The blame lies with one man, who is the president of the Refereeing Council, and who has allowed this chaos to take hold. All clubs are protesting except one,” reinforced the former official, alluding to Sporting.

In statements on Renascença radio, João Braz Frade argues that Portuguese football needs a different approach to referee decisions. “In refereeing, you can't have national complacency. Decisions must be clear and the same or very similar for all clubs. And that's not what's happening,” he lamented.

He further emphasized that “the officials from Braga, Porto, and Benfica protested. Only those from Sporting don't protest because they have been the most favored,” he added. João Braz Frade also hopes that Rui Costa will do “better” than what he has done in the sports field.

“This new Board has the obligation to do much better in sports terms than the previous one did. It's not a blank check; they really have that obligation. Rui Costa did what the opposition demanded and changed the entire football team,” said João Braz Frade.

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