Villas-Boas blasts refs, Liga, Sporting & Benfica in scathing editorial | OneFootball

In the August edition of Dragões magazine, FC Porto president André Villas-Boas signed a particularly critical editorial in which he pointed the finger at refereeing, the League, Sporting, Benfica, and commentators who, in his view, contribute to the creation of narratives unfavourable to the Dragons.

The official began by painting a negative picture of the national competitions, highlighting the deterioration of some pitches, the poor attendance in the stands, and television broadcasts that he considers incapable of properly promoting Portuguese football.

For Villas-Boas, there is a clear difference between what is actually experienced in the stadiums and the discourse of modernisation and growth presented by certain officials and figures in the public sphere.

Refereeing was one of the main targets of the criticism. The Porto president challenged the lack of consistency in the application of criteria and drew a comparison between the decisions seen in FC Porto matches and the treatment given to Sporting’s games.

Villas-Boas also resorted to irony when addressing the idea of “uniform criteria”. According to the FC Porto president, there are incidents in the Dragons’ matches that could result in penalties but prompt no intervention from VAR, while in Sporting’s matches, the most important decisions often end up benefiting the same side.

Frederico Varandas was also targeted in the editorial, with Villas-Boas making a jibe about future statements by the Sporting leader regarding the so-called sporting truth.

Benfica also featured among the topics addressed. The FC Porto president revisited the case involving Pedro Proença and the controversy surrounding the use of the Estádio da Luz by the national team, criticising what he sees as an incoherent attitude when it comes to institutional respect.

Villas-Boas also compared the transfers of Diego Moreira and Rodrigo Mora.

The official recalled that Diego Moreira left Benfica without the club from Luz receiving a direct return, before going on to complete a €50 million transfer to AC Milan. Rodrigo Mora, meanwhile, left FC Porto in a deal also associated with a €50 million fee.

In the Porto president’s view, the media coverage of the two cases was quite different, and he accused some commentators of using different standards when assessing operations involving FC Porto.

The editorial closes with André Villas-Boas reaffirming his defence of the club’s management and taking a confrontational stance towards what he considers to be recurring criticism directed at FC Porto, both on and off the pitch.

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