José Fernando Rio: “The system is against Porto, Sporting runs it” | OneFootball

The clash between FC Porto and Sporting shows no sign of easing, and the tension between the two rivals keeps rising day by day. The accusations continue to fly, and for now there is no indication of any cooling-off. Speaking to the website Desporto ao Minuto, José Fernando Rio, a candidate for the FC Porto presidency in 2020, commented on the dispute and acknowledged that neither club is free of blame.

“The bad atmosphere between Sporting and Porto has set in and is growing. I think it comes from the rivalry on the pitch. This year, they have been contesting the main competitions here in Portugal. I think some calm is needed, because this is not good for football or for sport. Neither side is innocent, and neither side is entirely to blame,” he began by saying.

“Despite the clashes this season in the Primeira Liga and the Portuguese Cup, this tension is not recent. We all remember that Frederico Varandas already had problems with the former FC Porto president, Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa, with whom he was quite rude. So this is not a problem that started this season, even if it has deepened,” he continued.

José Fernando Rio has no doubt that “Frederico Varandas wanted to raise his standing among Sporting supporters at the expense of Pinto da Costa at first, and now at the expense of André Villas-Boas.”

“Varandas’s attitude has been provocative and even arrogant”

The lawyer says he does not want to place all the responsibility on Sporting’s president, but he does not overlook the behavior Frederico Varandas has displayed.

“I also don’t want to put all the blame on Frederico Varandas, but the truth is that his attitude has often been provocative, even arrogant, with a sense of superiority. As an FC Porto supporter, I don’t like seeing that and I feel a little offended by that stance. Still, Sporting have won titles on merit and no one can take away the credit for their achievements,” he said.

Essentially, José Fernando Rio argues that there is no point in fueling these “dirty wars and word games,” even though he believes that has been Frederico Varandas’s approach.

“Every time Sporting’s president has spoken, he has ended up insulting the FC Porto president in a very inelegant way, calling him a liar and a coward. This is not the way forward. I recognize blame on both sides, but I place more blame on Sporting’s president,” he said.

Sporting controls the system and “has been favored”

But the man who challenged Pinto da Costa in 2020 did not stop there and went on to accuse Sporting of controlling the system. For that reason, he does not criticize FC Porto’s board for its stance, since the blue-and-white club “has to fight against several teams.”

“It is very difficult to defend FC Porto’s interests here in Portugal, because the system is always against Porto. And right now, the one controlling it is Sporting. That is why FC Porto feels it has to fight against opposing teams and even the refereeing teams,” he reiterated, before recalling Braga vs. FC Porto in the latest Primeira Liga round.

“The match in Braga was an absolute disgrace, they tried to knock Porto out of the title race. Fortunately, FC Porto were superior. Besides that, this postponement of Sporting’s match is very poorly explained. There is a whole series of episodes that mean FC Porto has to play more than the others, fight more than the others, protest more than the others in order to be treated more fairly,” he lamented.

José Fernando Rio gave another example of what he sees as Sporting’s impunity, recalling Luis Suárez’s sending-off in the first leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-finals.

“Suárez got a one-match suspension for that provocative gesture, but he struck Bednarek and was not punished for it. There is a sense of injustice that forces FC Porto to be stronger in defending its interests,” he said.

Controversy in the handball Clássico

The lawyer maintains that what happened before the handball match “has to be clarified,” although he believes it was an “accident.” Even so, he argues that the situation should be investigated, although he sees Sporting’s request for a meeting with the government as a total exaggeration.

“I think it was an accident, but it has to be clarified and investigated. That is a matter not only for handball’s disciplinary bodies, but also for the police themselves,” he said.

Sporting’s advantages

José Fernando Rio has no doubt that Sporting benefits from several bodies and that this ultimately translates into sporting advantages.

“The fact is that Sporting has managed to make the system benefit the League Board, the League’s Refereeing Committee, and the League’s Disciplinary Committee. It is very difficult to fight this in any way other than by making noise, exposing the situations, and filing those complaints. Porto has to complain because if Porto does not complain, nothing changes,” he said.

However, the lawyer also believes Sporting’s more combative stance stems from Frederico Varandas’s personality and from the fact that he “has the support of the membership.”

“I do not see any Sporting supporter criticizing this kind of gesture and these kinds of statements by their president. So I do not see him slowing down even a little in this relentless pace of attacking Porto, with or without reason,” he concluded.

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