André Villas-Boas intends to file complaint against Sporting CP after Portuguese Cup row | OneFootball

FC Porto president André Villas-Boas condemned the refereeing and said the club intend to lodge a complaint against Sporting CP after a 1-0 defeat in Lisbon in the Portuguese Cup semi-final first leg.

The sides met three weeks after a fraught 1-1 league draw, this time at the José Alvalade stadium, where Luis Suarez’s 62nd-minute penalty settled it. According to L'Équipe, the fallout swiftly eclipsed the scoreline.

Villas-Boas alleged Suarez called referee Claudio Pereira a thief. He pointed to the forward miming a theft gesture in first-half stoppage time after the referee declined to show Porto right-back Alberto Costa a second yellow for a rash tackle on Geny Catamo. He accepted Costa might have been booked, but said the earlier caution lacked justification.

He criticised the officials’ appointment as risky for a tie of this importance and said the referee was not up to it. The 48-year-old cited a four-match ban he received in China for a similar gesture and asked whether Suarez would face the same sanction.

He also accused Sporting of fostering a toxic climate, saying their president had previously called the federation chief a thief and went unpunished when the disciplinary commission closed the case. He argued one team enjoys total impunity, simulates and pressures officials, which he said leads to errors.

Sporting counterpart Frederico Varandas hit back, calling Villas-Boas a liar and saying he lacks the ethical stature to lead a club of Porto’s size. The return leg is on Wednesday 22 April in Porto.

Source: L'Équipe