José Fernando Rio: Benfica and Sporting hammer referees, no reply | OneFootball

In recent days, Portuguese football has been the stage for an intense exchange of accusations between Frederico Varandas and FC Porto. At the Rugidos de Leão gala, the president of Sporting pointed the finger at André Villas-Boas, accusing him of hypocrisy. In turn, FC Porto responded in kind, in a dispute that has been intensifying and also involves Benfica. In statements to Desporto ao Minuto, José Fernando Rio, a former candidate for the presidency of FC Porto, lamented the tense atmosphere and pointed to Frederico Varandas as the main responsible for this wave of confrontations. “This climate of pressure on refereeing has always existed in Portuguese football. But the last major milestone of this pressure on refereeing was the interview Frederico Varandas gave to Sporting TV in March this year. That's when everything intensified. President Villas-Boas only entered this battle, so to speak, just over a month ago at the FPF gala. He gave his opinion on what was happening, what Benfica and Sporting were doing, the pressure they were putting on refereeing. He also spoke about the problems that need to be solved in Portuguese football and that no one cares about, such as Portugal's loss of competitiveness in the UEFA ranking and the centralization of television rights which seems to be a mirage,” emphasized José Fernando Rio.

“Of course, Benfica and Sporting reacted immediately with many statements and posts on social media. President Varandas even said that he met with the president of the FPF to map out the club affiliations of the social bodies, look where we've come to. Portuguese football is going through a very turbulent period, to which FC Porto has to join. The war exists and if FC Porto stays out, it is harmed. André Villas-Boas was, in quotes, forced to join the fight. For a year and a half, he was saying what needed to be done for Portuguese football to improve and was left talking to himself. Benfica and Sporting spent last season busy attacking each other and even today there is talk of that Portuguese Cup final. Then we hear the president of Benfica saying that Sporting dominated this whole thing and that refereeing was a disgrace. Portuguese football has been at war for a long time and will continue,” he continued.

“The president of Sporting thinks he is someone very special and above others. But he is not, he is just like the others. He criticized Pinto da Costa a lot, and in the end, even in the worst, he is quite similar to him. He held a rally where he said things that were not an absolute truth, and FC Porto was forced to restore the truth and demonstrate the hypocrisy of Varandas' words and speech. This inconsistency of the Sporting president was made clear by the video shared by FC Porto on social media,” said the lawyer.

The former candidate considered that the northern club was right to change its strategy, under penalty of falling behind Sporting and Benfica.

“FC Porto's strategy is medium-term, not immediate. What FC Porto wants is that, throughout the season, it is not the most harmed club and the others are the most benefited. Everyone recognizes that, so far, FC Porto has not won any game due to refereeing benefits and has already been harmed in some, despite winning. I also think it is unanimous that Benfica and Sporting have already won games due to refereeing benefits. FC Porto does not want to hide the team's less good phase with this battle. The reality is that FC Porto drew one game in the I Liga and won the other 11. It is true that they played less well at home against Sporting de Braga, had a difficult trip to Moreira de Cónegos and won 1-0 in Famalicão. The performances are not brilliant, but the results keep coming. FC Porto manages the Europa League with the championship in mind, which is the main goal,” he stressed.

“It is in the pursuit of this strategy of being national champion that FC Porto was called to the fight and came to defend its interests because otherwise Benfica and Sporting would continue to be carried on the shoulders and FC Porto would continue to be harmed. The team can play a lot, but if it is harmed, it falls behind. Currently, we have a three-point advantage over Sporting and six over Benfica, and that distance could still be greater. The rivals have already lost points, but they could have lost even more points given the performances they had and the refereeing decisions that occurred in some games,” said José Fernando Rio, pointing the finger at the climate promoted by Benfica and Sporting.

“Benfica and Sporting are in this war of statements saying that there are referees who are not capable of officiating, who should be excluded, who have double standards depending on the situation. They have been harassing refereeing for almost a year and the referees, impassive and calm, do not find any way to protest. The first time an episode happens that is regrettable, but not as serious as some that have already happened on the part of Benfica and Sporting, and the referees protest. When this happens, FC Porto feels even more legitimized to join this battle because it knows that if it does nothing, it will be harmed,” he emphasized.

José Fernando Rio also praised the press conference of the FPF Arbitration Council, where he sees an attempt to strengthen credibility.

“The press conference by Duarte Gomes and Luciano Gonçalves was positive because it revealed some transparency, some objectivity. The referees are showing their faces. I think this is also important for their own credibility and credibility over time. I believe in this path they want to take, but then we cannot see decisions that the referees make that are different depending on the games. In a youth game, a much harsher incident was not a foul. In FC Porto-Sp. Braga, an incident that, in my opinion, wasn't even a foul, the referee ended up disallowing the goal,” recalling the episode with Fábio Veríssimo in the Estádio do Dragão locker room.

“It was this inconsistency that FC Porto wanted to show Fábio Veríssimo. The means were not the most beautiful and ethical. I condemn this action, but I understand that it is something that has to be done. If this is not done, the referees feel that if they benefit Benfica and Sporting, there is no problem, and if they benefit FC Porto, all hell breaks loose. Villas-Boas tried to stay out of this battle and fight for the interests of Portuguese football, but at this moment that is impossible. Those who stay on the sidelines watching the parade will not be part of the celebration in the end, and FC Porto does not want to see this happen,” he concluded.

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