Villas-Boas: “One truth is clear, Benfica and Sporting are allied” | OneFootball

André Villas-Boas denounced an alliance between Benfica and Sporting on the sidelines of the second edition of the Portugal Football Globes gala. The FC Porto president pointed to divisions over centralization, criticized the silence surrounding suspicions in refereeing, and painted a picture of instability in Portuguese football. For the Porto executive, “The rotten peace continues.”

At a time when differing positions are once again exposing the fractures between the main clubs, André Villas-Boas presented FC Porto as a dissenting voice, willing to call out the problems it identifies. The Dragons’ president recalled the attempt to bring the big three closer together, but made it clear that he stepped away when he concluded he was facing an unbalanced relationship of forces.

On the state of relations between FC Porto, Benfica and Sporting, Villas-Boas argued that openness to dialogue has not produced the desired stability. Benfica’s position on centralization was used as a sign that the disagreements remain deep.

“Very little has really changed. If there was anyone who promoted a channel of communication between the big three, it was me, sitting down at the table. When I realized it was two against one, I quickly stepped away. If there is one thing that is true and very evident, it is a holy alliance between Benfica and Sporting.” He then stressed: “We are FC Porto, we want what is best for Portuguese football, but I find the question curious when Benfica yesterday sent an SMS to its members urging them to vote against centralization. The rotten peace continues, there is noise, there are battles and different perspectives between clubs. Now, when a League General Assembly votes on centralization, a decisive project for Portuguese football, and Benfica is defending the opposite position, it seems that stability will never arrive.”

The Porto president’s reading is unequivocal: the institutional rapprochement has neither erased the conflicts nor brought strategies closer together. On the contrary, centralization emerges in his remarks as yet another breaking point.

Villas-Boas also defended the need for FC Porto to speak out publicly whenever it believes the credibility and functioning of Portuguese football are at stake. On that front, he again pointed to the appointment of referees and the response of the other clubs as reasons for concern.

“FC Porto has to expose the problems of Portuguese football when it thinks it is necessary and relevant. When there are suspicions regarding the appointment of a referee, it seems to me sufficient for FC Porto to call for the immediate suspension of the president of the Refereeing Council.” He added: “I saw no one else doing it and no other outrage. We have Portuguese football caught up in stories of corruption and suspicion, and it seems everything is normal. FC Porto shows its frustration when it has to.”

More than a one-off reaction, Villas-Boas presented this stance as an institutional duty. In his view, the silence of others deepens FC Porto’s isolation and reinforces the need for the club to make its objections public.

To support the idea of convergence between the Lisbon rivals, the Dragons’ president listed examples linked to communication, the League’s strategy, and the Refereeing Council. The argument once again led back to the idea of a two-against-one scenario.

“Alignment in communication against FC Porto, alignment regarding the League’s strategy. FC Porto took a different position on the election of the League president and on this case as well. I do not know Benfica’s position regarding the Refereeing Council, but the Sporting president and Paulo Lopo were the only ones who supported the current president of the Refereeing Council.” He summed up at the end: “Lisbon clubs trying to harm FC Porto? Naturally. Two against one is always easier than one against one.”

The list seeks to give political substance to the accusation of an alliance, linking different issues under the same line of confrontation. Villas-Boas did not treat these overlaps as separate episodes, but as signs of ongoing alignment.

Frederico Varandas was also directly targeted. The FC Porto president responded with irony to the idea that the Sporting leader has kept away from discussions about refereeing.

“Frederico Varandas doesn’t talk about refereeing? That’s a novelty for the 2026/27 season. In the others, that is not how he behaved,” he said.

The remark rounds off the picture drawn by Villas-Boas: a Portuguese football landscape marked by contradictory positions, strategic alliances, and an institutional balance that, in his view, remains far from being achieved.

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