Ex-Sporting stalwart slams Benfica, Porto: refs too influential | OneFootball

At a time when refereeing has once again become one of the most debated topics of the moment, testimonies are emerging that report the problems still persist. Recently, Filipe Soares Franco, former president of Sporting, admitted that Benfica and Porto, targets of proceedings by the CD, had influence during his time at Alvalade.

In an exclusive interview with the newspaper Record, the former leader of the lions addressed the controversial topic, stating that during his presidency the rivals had influence on the referees: "It's not whether I felt it. Of course, I felt it".

Time eventually proved that we were right. Therefore, now in retrospect, it is very easy to prove that FC Porto had influence on refereeing and Benfica had a lot of influence on refereeing. There is no doubt about that," added Filipe Soares Franco.

The former president of the Alvalade team took the opportunity to take a jab at Benfica and Porto fans: "It may be difficult for the fans of those clubs to acknowledge and, possibly, even for the leaders, but it is a fact. A fact that is demonstrated for Sporting fans".

Finally, Filipe Soares Franco questioned the functioning of VAR: "With VAR there are also refereeing errors. There are also incomprehensible things. How did VAR not see, or not signal, or not intervene? There are always excuses. You know, the sport I know where it's easiest to cheat is golf".

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