Villas-Boas on VAR and “green mantle”: “That trauma still nags” | OneFootball

In the editorial of Dragões Magazine, André Villas-Boas spoke about “what many would like FC Porto to ignore”.

“Some people have been trying to sell the idea that ‘if VAR had existed earlier’ they would have won more titles for their beloved club. It is a recurring and telling lament. Telling because, with VAR or without VAR, there was one reality those ‘wronged’ people had to swallow: in their time FC Porto won the European Cup, won the Champions League, won the UEFA Cup, won the Europa League and won the Intercontinental Cup twice! It was national champion, back-to-back champion, three-time champion, four-time champion, five-time champion. And that trauma, apparently, does not go away. It itches. It bothers them,” stressed the leader of the blue-and-whites, who also recalled the recent episode in the Portuguese Cup semi-final, when Sporting did not want to go through the usual entrance to the dressing rooms, where FC Porto’s seven international titles were on display:

“And that is why, at the Dragão, we witnessed yet another episode of that small-mindedness: the choice of a discreet entrance, through the back door, to avoid facing head-on the weight of FC Porto’s History. When History weighs heavily, some prefer not to face it. We live with it every day, because we built it ourselves with our sweat and the high standards that set us apart, something that, for them, will always be unattainable, with VAR or without VAR.”

Villas-Boas also pointed to a “clear lack of impartiality”.

“The absence of any opposing view is deliberate, and the refusal to confirm any action at the source remains, because the objective of distorting public opinion is far more important than respect for an Institution and its people,” wrote the president, in a “phenomenon that has been seen this season” and which “happens not only with FC Porto, but also with referees who, inadvertently, make mistakes against Sporting”.

“On channels aligned with the green shirt, referees are dissected over every one of their decisions, as if a mistake were a betrayal of the Lisbon club and as if public pressure were a legitimate instrument for ‘correcting’ the game. This, yes, seems to be the new ‘system’ of Portuguese football: shaping perceptions, shaping environments, shaping decisions. Today it is the penalty episode, tomorrow it is the rebound, then the ‘educational’ card, next the white card, and the truth of the game ends up held hostage to the wind blowing the script into the studios and the editorial offices of certain newspapers,” reiterated André Villas-Boas.

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