Ex-candidate urges Varandas to pull Sporting out of the Portuguese Cup | OneFootball

Pedro Pinto de Souto publicly stated that Sporting should withdraw from the current edition of the Portuguese Cup, following the match against Santa Clara. The businessman wrote an open letter to Frederico Varandas, in which he asks the current leader to withdraw from the competition.

The former candidate for the Clube de Alvalade elections in 2009 - a candidacy he eventually withdrew when José Eduardo Bettencourt won the election - Pedro Pinto de Souto argued that this is a decisive moment for the Club's leadership to demonstrate institutional integrity. 

In a message addressed to President Frederico Varandas, the green and white member recalls past episodes of injustice experienced by the Club and begins by emotionally contextualizing his position, highlighting the historical weight of these experiences in the leonine universe.

In the message, Pedro Pinto de Souto clearly states: "I am ashamed to win like this. Sporting fans don't win like this, even having been wronged for years and years. No, the theory of a thief stealing from a thief being forgiven 100 times can never become a value. It's not what we teach our children nor what we want to be accountable for in another life."

The author of the letter also considers that Frederico Varandas now has a unique opportunity to take an ethical stand: "President FV has a clear opportunity to shine through integrity. Regardless of the financial or sporting cost, we now have our moment of example and the future of our Sporting. Yes, to leave this cup competition, not to continue and appear in the quarter-finals. Whatever the price, we have won our moment. To be different. There will be many cups in the future," he concluded.

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