Villas-Boas hits out again at Suárez, Hjulmand and Sporting-Tondela delay | OneFootball

In the editorial of the latest issue of Revista Dragões, André Villas-Boas commented on the one-match suspension handed to Luis Suárez for the “stealing gesture” against Porto in the first leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-finals, while also addressing the dismissal of disciplinary proceedings involving the Colombian forward and Morten Hjulmand.

The Porto president referred to the decisions of the FPF Disciplinary Board, which shelved the cases related to Luis Suárez’s alleged aggression against Jan Bednarek and Hjulmand’s alleged aggression against AVS SAD’s Tiago Galletto. According to Villas-Boas, the refereeing teams confirmed they had seen the incidents and considered that they did not warrant disciplinary action.

"On other fronts, the FPF Disciplinary Board decided to shelve the cases relating to the alleged aggression by Luis Suárez against Bednarek and by Hjulmand against AVS’s Tiago Galletto, after the different refereeing teams involved in the matter were heard and confirmed they had seen the incidents and that they were not punishable by disciplinary action. None of this is surprising, just as the future introduction of the white card in the Professional Leagues, riding on the back of Luís Suárez, is not surprising either. In an attempt to win another penalty for Sporting, he quickly regretted it and apologized. What a shame Hjulmand did not show the same dignity in the Azores. The talking heads in the service of the green mantle wasted no time expressing outrage against the best Portuguese referee, in a clear attempt to downplay the 'stealing' gestures the player directed at referee Cláudio Pereira, who left Alvalade branded a thief and with a glass bottle to the head, and which earned the player only one (!) match suspension, almost conveniently lined up with the first game after the international break," he wrote.

Villas-Boas also addressed the postponement of Sporting v Tondela, describing it as controversial and criticizing the context of the decision. The Porto official classified the case as one of the recent episodes that, in his view, raise doubts about how the schedule is being managed.

"In another matter, but in keeping with events that inadvertently always seem to benefit the usual club, Porto asked the League for clarification on the rescheduling of Sporting v Tondela, one of the most recent scandals shaking Liga Portugal, after Sporting and the League decided, unilaterally and outside the scope of the Permanent Scheduling and Match Assignment Committee, to postpone a match in an unexpected and unfounded way, thus breaking the competition regulations. As a result, the match will be played out of its proper time, not on the first available date (1 April) and under sporting conditions radically different from those that should have applied when it was meant to be played, having been set for 29 April, on the assumption that the League’s wish to see a Portuguese team eliminated from the Champions League is fulfilled. Let no one be mistaken into thinking the postponement was lawful under the 72-hour rule. Then came the slyness in support of that lie. This is no longer just about violating sporting truth: it is directly influencing the final outcome of the championship, both in the fight for the podium and in the battle to avoid relegation," stressed André Villas-Boas.

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