Varandas stirs things up again: “FC Porto have been miserable” | OneFootball

Frederico Varandas fired in several directions in the statements he made after the meeting with the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, and the Secretary of State for Sport, Pedro Dias.

The Sporting president acknowledged that the matter discussed “went far beyond what happened” on Saturday, before the match away to FC Porto, played in the opening round of the championship stage in handball.

Frederico Varandas justified the request for an urgent meeting: “Sporting felt it was important to speak with the top of the pyramid because since November there have been several incidents that have tarnished the image of national sport: the Fábio Veríssimo case, the disappearance of the balls when FC Porto scored in the derby, the theft of Rui Silva’s towels, the placing of speakers when Sporting played at the Dragão to drown out Sporting fans’ chants, and finally this episode.”

“It seems like there is a dispute between Sporting and FC Porto, but there is no quarrel at all, Sporting has no problem whatsoever. What happens is that one club has a way of conducting itself for which I can find no adjective other than miserable. I have to react; I wish I didn’t have to intervene, but if the Sporting president doesn’t speak, then who will?”, he reiterated.

The Sporting president also pointed the finger at the silence of the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, Pedro Proença, and the president of the League, Reinaldo Teixeira: “Sporting is calm because it supported both presidents in their respective elections, but we cannot have the goal of getting along with the big three; I disagree with that position. What I have seen until today is total silence. The president of the League says nothing, the president of the FPF says nothing. They are serious people, but having values also means fighting against practices that interfere with the ethics and integrity of competitions.”

The Sporting leader insisted that the behaviors mentioned earlier “are not part of football.” “It is not part of football to steal goalkeepers’ towels so they cannot dry their hands, it is not part of football to set a trap on television so the channel cannot be changed. I would also like to get along with everyone, just look at the neighboring country: we have Federation and League presidents there who are very tough on Barcelona and Real Madrid. Here, no, the big clubs are untouchable,” he stressed, calling for a firmer response from the FPF and the League.

Frederico Varandas also explained that he asked Margarida Balseiro Lopes to “speak with the presidents of the Federations.”

André Villas-Boas and the general director of FC Porto’s blue-and-white sports departments, Mário Santos, will also be received by Margarida Balseiro Lopes and Pedro Dias this Wednesday. Frederico Varandes said he did not have the “pleasure” of running into the officials.

The Sporting president reacted with irony to the arguments presented by FC Porto following the incident at the Dragão Arena: “We already know it was all made up, a lie, the handball coach staged it, Moga staged it, the delegate was treated and she made it up too. I was in Lisbon, the team did not want to play. It was surreal. The Federation understood there were reasons to play and Sporting played under protest.”

The Public Prosecutor’s Office opened a criminal investigation on Tuesday to look into the facts of what happened, after Sporting complained of intoxication in the dressing room, which led to coach Ricardo Costa and pivot Christian Moga being treated on site.

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