André Villas-Boas: “Case closed, FC Porto will chase all who insulted us” | OneFootball

At the end of the meeting with the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, André Villas-Boas spoke to journalists about the “alleged incidents that Sporting claimed in its statement”.

“Above all, FC Porto came to provide clarification about the alleged incidents that Sporting claimed in its statement. FC Porto is absolutely calm regarding all the facts. That is what we conveyed to the Minister, in an internal, external and extensive review. From the very first moment, the dressing room door was closed, until the moment it was opened to receive Sporting. Any wrongdoing involving cleaning products and toxic substances, as well as any internal or external sabotage, is ruled out. So that everyone can have all the documentation and there won’t be a whole Carnival over the last few days. There are several Sporting players who leave the dressing room following the instructions of our security director, as well as coach Ricardo Costa, who is inside the dressing room for 40 seconds until much later he ends up feeling unwell with high blood pressure. For us, it is very hard to see a Golden Dragon frustrated on the floor, with symptoms of high blood pressure in a derby, and we wish him all the best and that he quickly is in a condition to coach Sporting again”.

Regarding the footage that exists… “For us, it is reassuring that an inquiry has been opened by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The facts and the images, as well as the documents FC Porto has, are very obvious. From the medical reports to the police report. The only thing raised is an assault by Martim Costa on an FC Porto supporter. The police have already spoken out and there is nothing abnormal in the conditions FC Porto provided to Sporting to get changed, neither in that dressing room nor in any other. We are absolutely calm. Once all the facts are established, and this is shelved, FC Porto will be relentless with Sporting regarding defamation, slander and attacks against its good name. Not only on Sporting’s part, but also on the part of some media commentators who went beyond freedom of expression”.

Statements by Frederico Varandas, who spoke of “miserable” acts: “From newspaper covers, to covers, towels and cones, the only thing I can send the Sporting president is some new newspaper covers, a set of balls, cones and towels. I don’t know what he has against FC Porto… It is very rare to come and discuss with the minister an incident that, for Sporting, was extremely serious, a criminal matter, which ends up being turned into cones, balls and towels. It is rare and pathetic. Just as Sporting’s statement is rare and pathetic, referring to handball once and trying to take this incident into other cases that have nothing to do with it. In this case, FC Porto is very well documented”.

But there were people who felt unwell…: “Yes, one had high blood pressure and another had low blood sugar. This was the report FC Porto received. Player Moga was given a glass of water with sugar and was discharged immediately…”.

Will the Cup match go ahead without any incidents? “There wasn’t even any hospitalization of Sporting members. There are several people who leave the dressing room and there are Sporting players joking about the situation. That is the unusual nature of the case that Sporting tried to exploit, just as it exploited the newspaper covers when it came to play at the Dragão. And this permanent victimization is regrettable, forcing the minister to hold a meeting because of a case like this”.

What explanations are there for the other cases, outside handball? “I understand the frustrations of the Sporting president, especially when in his stadium there are supporters throwing glass bottles at referees’ heads, players saying that a referee is a thief… I understand the frustrations. When there are breaches of the League’s regulatory codes to postpone a football match… I understand the attempts to change the narrative. Since there was a break for national team matches, Sporting wants to push the Tondela match case a little further down the line. He came here and made the spectacle he made, which is regrettable across the whole League. He forced the minister to meet with the two presidents in a case where FC Porto has irrefutable proof. Once the case is shelved, FC Porto will be relentless”.

The climate in Portuguese football: “That was the main point of the meeting. In the sense of promoting greater dialogue among the big three. The only one who tried was me. I cannot allow that over the course of seasons there be a president who is permanently incendiary regarding Refereeing Councils, institutions, clubs, people, with clear and barbaric personal attacks against me. And I have always dealt with that well. But I cannot allow FC Porto’s name to be dragged through the mud at will. And that is what the Sporting president does. Whether there is capacity for understanding among the big three? Possibly. But it is necessary to lower the tone of communication, to be more thoughtful, to be fully aware of one’s own actions and mistakes instead of accusing others… I have already done my part. It will probably be in meetings like this that tempers can be calmed. But it is all part of historic rivalries and in all this we are in the realm of emotions and visceral behaviour. For us, presidents, it is very hard because we go far beyond emotions and cross several lines. But I have already done my part”.

And what should be done on the Sporting president’s side? “He has to be aware of what he says. Do you think the Sporting president’s agitated state after the match is normal, when he calls another president a coward and a liar? After a meeting we had, the Sporting president came to apologize to me. In front of the media he is not capable of doing it. And the apology was accepted. It was at this last meeting, when we met with the president of the FPF about sports betting. He apologized to me. As a result of his constant and inflammatory statements to the media. This was the last time we were face to face and spoke about the issue of revenues. I cannot do more than my role. I understand that there is a need to calm tempers and the excitement of some people, but I cannot constantly live with Sporting’s victimization. On certain issues and sports. The Sporting president will be directed to another area because I take no pleasure in having him sit next to me, nor does he take pleasure in sitting next to me. That we all have to project a different image, possibly. That there may be a path to calming things down, perhaps. In this case, we are the promoter of the event and we have our organization, we fulfilled all security requirements. But if Sporting takes issue with newspaper covers that have been installed in the away dressing room for a long time or with the cleaning products we use in the dressing rooms… I can do nothing more than note the permanent victimization of one club. Our goal for the next match is to build a spa to properly receive Sporting. With proper beds, the necessary sheet quality, with softer velvet towels… These are the historic rivalries of Portuguese football”.

But aren’t limits being crossed? “But the limits are not about stealing towels, for God’s sake. If the Sporting president is worried about stealing towels, what I say to him is to be careful about the glass bottles flying in his stadium and hitting referees in the head, about players who say referees are thieves, and about his statements when he says that 40 years ago federation presidents were under the orders of club presidents. Isn’t that much more serious than cones, balls, towels and meetings with the minister? These are the considerations the Sporting president needs to bring back to reality, calm down a little, and for both of us to recognize that it is necessary to calm the atmosphere in Portuguese football, given that there are historic rivalries that exist in these arenas”.

Regarding Sporting-Tondela, who is lying? “There is an unfulfilled rule in order to comply with a law that is not mandatory: the 72 hours. If you want, do a study to see how many matches have already been played without the 72-hour interval. And another regulatory rule cannot be broken either”.

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