Varandas hits back at Villas-Boas again, calls it a ridiculous argument | OneFootball

Frederico Varandas responded to André Villas-Boas’s statements, also revealing an incident that took place at the meeting at the Portuguese Football Federation, after the Porto official mentioned an apology from the Sporting leader. The remarks were made at the University Stadium of Lisbon, after the U13 final of the Aurélio Pereira Tournament, where Real Betis beat Sporting 4-2. See everything he said.

"A year ago, we were in the middle of elections for the League, and the four presidents of Sporting, Benfica, Porto and Braga were there with one companion each - me, with Salgado Zenha; Rui Costa with Nuno Catarino; Villas-Boas with Pereira da Costa; and António Salvador with André Viana - at a meeting in a hotel in Gaia, to interview the candidates for the presidency, João Fonseca and Reinaldo Teixeira. When we interviewed the now president, Reinaldo Teixeira, Villas-Boas said: "One thing that is extremely important for us, Porto, is sporting truth and legal cases. The League president must have an iron fist." Villas-Boas turned to Rui Costa and said: "This affects both of us. I have no problem saying that the Golden Whistle and the email case are a disgrace, so I wanted the League president to say that this cannot happen again." So I now ask: will Villas-Boas also say publicly that the Golden Whistle is a disgrace?"

"There was a meeting organized by Pedro Proença with the presidents of Sporting, Porto, Benfica and Braga. It was a positive, constructive meeting to talk about reforms. Proença also urged the clubs to act responsibly. When we said goodbye, I even apologized for some excesses in the past, namely involving the Porto president. But that was before Sporting’s visit to the Dragão and before the handball team’s visit"

"I listened with great interest to the Porto president’s statements after the meeting with the Minister. I did not see a single question answered. I saw a somewhat ridiculous argument, which is comparing the behavior of a fan with the behavior of a professional structure. I saw a serious attack on freedom of expression, with pressure being put on pundits and a journalist; I would ask for that to be sent to the president of the sports journalists’ association, Manuel Queiroz, who was away on Easter छुट्टी and did not witness it. And I see something even worse, perhaps: he even mocked the coach’s medical condition, the match delegate and a player. I did not see a single situation clarified"

"I noticed that many people are even saying that this has gone far enough between Sporting and Porto. Sporting started nothing. One club attacked and the other was attacked. Sporting welcomes teams properly, does not show videos in the referees’ dressing rooms. It does not have opponents feeling unwell at the João Rocha Pavilion. I sense silence and inaction from those who run the sport. And Sporting is supposed to stay silent? Then who defends Sporting?"

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