“I’ll never allow Pedro Proença’s dignity to be called into question” | OneFootball

On the possibility of a calm season: “We kicked off the new season today in a great celebration among teams representing communities, where the players’ talent are the true protagonists of the football that matters. We have a season prepared; it will be ten very intense months, in which the major sporting interests will always come before everything else. Portuguese football faces major challenges.”

On the controversy surrounding the audio recordings: “I already issued a statement regarding what happened last week. But I would like to take this opportunity to leave two or three points that seem important to me. At no point can opinions expressed by the citizen Pedro Proença at a given moment and under certain circumstances be confused with the current role and formal opinions of the president of the Federation. Manipulations, truncated conversations, excerpts taken out and linked to someone — I would say these are acts of near cowardice and absolutely illegal. I will never allow the dignity of the citizen Pedro Proença to be called into question. Those are the points I want to leave. Just yesterday, the conversation held with the referees made clear the will and vision that the FPF has in investing in good conditions for referees so that we can have a great season. We want to create the conditions for a very good season. The role of the FPF is to create conditions for better performances, better referees, and a healthier competition in which integrity is protected. On the Federation’s part, we will do everything to make that happen.”

On the criticism directed at refereeing: “I’m not going to comment; I would have to see the whole conversation. I do not know whether the conversation is being attributed to someone who is not me or whether it is being presented outside of a disconnected context. The opinion of a private citizen outside a given context has nothing to do with the institutional position of the president of the FPF, who has a very important role, which is to create stability.”

Regarding Luciano Gonçalves’s opinion: “The Refereeing Council has autonomy; it was elected independently. It was the Council itself that made an independent decision. In sporting terms, everything will be settled. What the FPF wants is for everyone to have the conditions for a good season and great peace of mind, and we will do everything to make that a reality. Portuguese football faces major challenges, one of them being the organization of the World Cup.”

Asked about the possibility of Luciano Gonçalves being formally named a suspect: “I do not speak about hypothetical scenarios. I have nothing to say about that; we strongly believe in the independence of all bodies. The decision was one that closed the case regarding the facts, and the Refereeing Council has all the conditions it needs to carry out its work.”

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