Villas-Boas accuses Sporting of ‘trying to pull a fast one’ | OneFootball

André Villas-Boas once again criticized Sporting and Frederico Varandas this Wednesday, in remarks made on the sidelines of the ECO Festival at the CCB in Lisbon. Porto’s president spoke about the atmosphere at the most recent League General Assembly and directly pointed to the proposals put forward by the Lions.

“We are in the realm of emotions. Presidents are not immune to them. When the limits are crossed, we have to acknowledge it. Last season they were greatly exceeded. What we cannot do is live in hypocrisy,” Villas-Boas began, before attacking the measures defended by Sporting at the General Assembly.

“What happened at the last General Assembly was absolutely pathetic, regarding Sporting’s proposals. One had to do with a badly awarded corner that led to an undeserved Sporting win, a proposal that comes from IFAB and not from Sporting,” said the Porto official, before then aiming fresh criticism at Sporting’s leaders.

“It was an attempt at being too clever that went very badly for them. And the other has to do with the conduct of presidents. If we want to increase financial penalties regarding the words of presidents, we have to lead by example and not have situations like the one that happened in the Sporting - Porto match, in which one president lost his head and insulted another,” he said.

Even so, André Villas-Boas also admitted personal responsibility for the most tense episodes throughout the season. “I also take responsibility. There is a level of civility we must maintain. You can certainly count on Porto’s president for that, and it is important that certain lines are not crossed,” he added.

Asked about the growing tension between Portugal’s big clubs, Villas-Boas assured that he has tried to bring positions closer together since taking over as president of the Dragons, although he believes the blue-and-white club ended up being disrespected at certain moments. “I have done nothing but try to bring the big names in Portuguese football closer together. From the moment they try to step on Porto’s heels, there is no way the clubs can get along with each other,” he said.

The Porto leader also revealed that there is agreement between the Lions and the Dragons on some structural issues in Portuguese football. “There are things that are working, regarding centralization, where there is total agreement between Porto and Sporting. Benfica does not agree. There are dossiers where there is a common body of ideas. There are others where there is no alignment,” he concluded.

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