Varandas hits out at refereeing, targets Benfica and Porto: “No owner” | OneFootball

Frederico Varandas spoke publicly about the recent refereeing controversies in Portuguese football, vehemently criticizing the surrounding climate and accusing the way incidents involving Sporting are scrutinized, contrasting them with similar situations involving other clubs, namely Benfica.

“Sporting, whether in victory or defeat, has its own stance. We also make mistakes, there are days when we’re not at our best, but we have never strayed from what I believe is the correct way to run a sports club,” began the Sporting president, stressing the obligation to protect the institution’s reputation. “I am obliged to come and defend Sporting’s good name. If you don’t feel it, you’re not a good person. I’ll say as many times as necessary that we have to stand our ground.”

Varandas then outlined a historical overview of refereeing in Portugal, arguing that the current context is different from the past. “For decades, refereeing was not independent, it had owners: FC Porto and Benfica, with Pinto da Costa and Luís Filipe Vieira. We grew up in a football where mistakes, which are human, were completely disproportionate,” he said, before highlighting a structural change. “Since Fernando Gomes and Luciano Gonçalves, refereeing has no owner.”

The Sporting leader also rejected the notion that refereeing has gotten worse. “Refereeing has mistakes, of course, but what I won’t accept is people telling me it’s worse now and that it used to be much better. Worse in what way? Today, human errors are proportional among the clubs and it seems people aren’t prepared to see mistakes in Sporting’s favor.”

As an example, Varandas mentioned the match against Santa Clara, where a penalty was awarded to Sporting that he considers wrongly given. “For me, it’s not a penalty. VAR got it wrong, told João Pinheiro there was a penalty and then they spent 14 minutes, inexplicably, checking for offside. The president of Sporting said it wasn’t a penalty. What happened? A national scandal. No one talked about anything else.”

Varandas contrasted this episode with recent incidents involving Benfica. “24 hours before that game there was a Farense-Benfica match where, at 0-0, I saw a Benfica player dive. The referee wrongly called a foul, gave a free kick and it led to a goal. Absolute silence. A month ago, a wrongly awarded corner led to a goal for Sporting and it was a media cyclone,” he criticized, blaming part of the media coverage. “A large part of the media is to blame, because I don’t see this treatment with other clubs.”

The president also questioned what the reaction would have been if a penalty like the one awarded in the Famalicão–Benfica match had favored Sporting. “What would it have been like if it was for Sporting? Benfica has already had nine penalties, go check if there were mistakes or not.”

Finally, Varandas broadened the reflection to the international scene, recalling that mistakes are part of football, even at the highest level. “Sporting plays in the Champions League, with the best referees in the world. In the game against Napoli, a player should have been sent off. Against Marseille there were three major mistakes. At home against Club Brugge there was a red card for Hjulmand that was nothing. These are international referees,” he concluded. “Is it a mistake by a Portuguese referee, considered the best, that calls all refereeing into question? This is a completely absurd level of noise.”

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