Varandas slams Villas Boas, Sporting chief accuses Porto of lying | OneFootball

Frederico Varandas responded this Tuesday, February 17, in Alcochete, in statements to journalists, to Porto's attacks and to the remarks made through the Dragões Diário newsletter, namely the claim that the Lions control refereeing. The President of Sporting says that the rival lied and harshly criticizes André Villas Boas.

Porto's Words

"Regarding what the statement says about Sporting, I will focus on two points. One is very direct, it refers to yet another incident in the Sporting vs. Famalicão match. Curiously, that incident, which is rare in Portuguese football, was unanimously agreed upon by all commentators in the sports analysis. Everyone considers that the decision was correct. The second point insinuates that Sporting has pawns on a Non-Permanent Refereeing Committee. I have already clarified this matter, but they are interested in persisting with the lie. And I will explain again: these governing bodies of the Federation were elected with Porto's support. In May, before the season started, 19 committees were created. What are they? Reflection groups. They do not report to the Refereeing Council, they do not report to the Disciplinary Council, they have no decision-making power. The Federation invited the 84 delegates, which include the professional clubs, to the working committees. Sporting signed up. But guess what? Porto also signed up. There were committees for refereeing, competitions, youth football, players, coaches... Whoever wrote this statement knows they are lying. The purpose of this statement is not to inform. It is simply to divert attention."

And why is Sporting being targeted again?

"Because they are not interested in talking about what needs to be talked about. Once again, I waited a few days to see if there would be any response, something that would explain what happened in Porto - Sporting. And I’ll let go the fact that the delegation entered, passed by fans who, if only their sleeves had been rolled up, would not have been offending, insulting, and threatening the players, the president, the staff, and the coach. I’m not talking about the air conditioning, the locker room decor. That, to me, is of little relevance."

But weren’t the kisses you blew to the fans a provocative act?

"No, it was not provocative. Look: I was taught since I was little that the best response to hate is love. That’s all. Regarding those three episodes, I’ll let them go. It even motivates opposing teams, it shows small-mindedness and a lack of noble character. When Sporting hosts, whether it’s the 1st place team, in this case Porto, or any other, it’s with all possible dignity. That’s how I like to compete, how Sporting likes to compete. The statements, which are a string of lies, and have been since the Porto match, have only one objective: to avoid talking about what matters. And what happened to Rui Silva’s towels? Three towels were needed. I’ve never seen this. They stole the goalkeeper’s towels twice during the match. And after Porto’s goal, all the ball boys removed the cones and the balls. And this, gentlemen, you no longer see in peripheral Europe. You only see this in Africa."

"I think you should know that the president of Porto belongs to the UEFA Club Competitions Committee. Attention. I would like you to ask the president of Porto if he suggests, at the elite level of football, stealing the balls when you’re winning 1-0. Then, taking away the goalkeeper’s towel. Is this what he proposes? In the UEFA Committee? I have a suggestion for the president of Porto. Let him do this now in the Europa League round of 16. You know that here they play around with the Disciplinary Council. The Fábio Veríssimo case seems to be over. Porto was fined more than 12 thousand euros for what happened. You had access to FC Porto’s justification. It was a mere oversight. An oversight why? Because Porto analyzes, during the first half, controversial refereeing incidents and sends them to the coaches. And don’t they also evaluate incidents from youth matches? From a Braga - Porto youth match... They also analyze youth games. This is the Disciplinary Council’s justification. Look. They lie. They lie. I thought the justification would be ‘the president didn’t know’. But no. There’s a lie."

Check out the statements:

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