Rio slams Varandas, says the Sporting president is just like Pinto da Costa | OneFootball

The environment in Portuguese football has been marked by intense exchanges of accusations between Sporting, Porto, and Benfica. José Fernando Rio, a former candidate in the elections of the blue and white emblem, attributes much of this tension to the positions taken by Frederico Varandas over the past year and compares him to Pinto da Costa.

"This climate of pressure regarding refereeing has always existed in Portuguese football. But the last major milestone of this pressure was the interview Frederico Varandas gave to Sporting TV last March. That's when everything intensified," he stated to 'Notícias ao Minuto'.

José Fernando Rio also criticized the way the Eagles and Lions have reacted to the Dragons' discourse: "Of course, Benfica and Sporting immediately reacted with many statements and posts on social media. President Varandas even said he met with the president of the FPF to map out the club affiliations of the social bodies, look at where we've come," he lamented.

According to him, the intervention of the Lions' top leader at the Gala Rugidos de Leão was crucial in worsening hostilities: "The President of Sporting considers himself 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 weren't absolutely true, and Porto was forced to restore the truth and demonstrate the hypocrisy of Varandas' words and speech," he asserted.

Rio argued that the rivals have been favored: "What Porto wants is that, throughout the season, it is not the most disadvantaged club and that the others are the most favored. Everyone recognizes that, so far, Porto hasn't won any game due to refereeing benefits and has already been disadvantaged in some, despite winning. It is unanimous that Benfica and Sporting have already won games due to refereeing benefits," he concluded.

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