Villas Boas hits back at Varandas, Sporting chief’s words rile fans | OneFootball

The president of Porto, André Villas-Boas, did not hold back when addressing the controversy raised by the statements of Frederico Varandas, who, on Sunday, publicly spoke about the club preferences of several members of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF).

Upon arriving at the Portugal Football Globes gala, the Porto leader considered the situation “serious” and demanded explanations from the FPF president, Pedro Proença: “The most serious thing is that there was a meeting between the President of Sporting and the Federation, to map out the club affiliations of the Federation's social bodies. These are serious statements. I just conveyed to him that I think they should not go unpunished,” he began by stating.

The official even revealed that he contacted Pedro Proença directly, expressing concern about the stance of the Sporting's top official: “After statements on this subject, I wrote a message to the Federation's president, because if his motto is to unite football, statements like these cannot go unpunished,” he emphasized.

Villas-Boas also stressed that, if the meeting mentioned by Varandas really took place, the clubs have the right to be informed and to demand transparency: “Because there cannot be a mapping of the FPF's social bodies without all clubs being informed about it. Or that it be public and not between two people. I find the statements serious. If that meeting happened, if that mapping happened, we all have the right to know who these people are,” stated the Porto president.

The top leader of Porto made a direct appeal to Pedro Proença, urging him to exercise his leadership role and to put an end to the controversy with clarity and firmness. “If he wants to unite, he must step forward and, once and for all, reaffirm his authority,” he concluded.

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