The president of Sporting, Frederico Varandas, stated on Tuesday, March 3, that FC Porto is afraid of not being able to win the championship because they “play little”, accusing his counterpart André Villas-Boas of being “a liar” and a “coward”.
Varandas spoke in the mixed area of the José Alvalade Stadium after Sporting’s 1-0 victory over FC Porto in the first leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-finals – decided by a goal from Colombian Luis Suárez, from the penalty spot -, shortly after the president of the ‘dragons’ had also done so.
“You want to build the narrative. Now, let’s make Luis Suárez a scapegoat, because I see the president of FC Porto with a lot of fear. He was a coach and he looks at the field the same way I see it, he thinks his team isn’t enough to be champions. This is his fear, they play little”stated the leader of the ‘lions’.
Villas-Boas accused Sporting and its president Frederico Varandas of having “complete impunity” in national football.
“As a coach in China, I was suspended four games for a gesture similar to that of Suárez. The president of Sporting has already called the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, João Capela and Nuno Almeida a thief. Suaréz ended up calling today’s referee a thief with gestures”, said the leader of the ‘dragons’.
The president of Sporting, who praised the way the opponent was received, ironizing the fact that there were no fireworks, also stated that FC Porto “seems like they don’t even know how they are leading the championship”.
“They say that Luis Suárez has to play four games. He was in China, in that truly democratic country, but they asked if in China he would post videos conditioning referees? Maybe he would take 40 games. Mr. Villas-Boas is president, but he knows a lot about football. He comes to complain that the penalty was preceded by a foul. Do you know how long this hypothetical foul takes until the penalty? One minute and 40 seconds”, he defended.
Frederico Varandas said that before the play in which there are gestures from Suárez, there is a play with defender Alberto Costa, which could lead to his expulsion, considering this a “very gross” error.
“What is a consequence is Suárez making the gesture. We are not discussing why this happened. Do you know why he is talking about suspension games? Because He is afraid that Suárez will continue to play, because Suárez plays a lot, scores a lot of goals and is a nuisance. Should I have done it? No. But let’s frame why. If Suárez is punished, I want to understand how many games a club should be punished for conditioning a referee, by broadcasting videos during halftime of games, even children’s games. Let’s put everything on the same scale. And let’s also see what punishment there should be for ordering the catchers to remove the balls.”he stressed, remembering the game at Dragão for the I League.
The president of Sporting also accused André Villas-Boas of being a “liar” and of not having the ethical dimensions to lead FC Porto.
“President André Villas-Boas lies, he is a liar. I live well with a liar, but he is very small for the entity that governs. What hurts his wound is that he and the friends around him do not have the ethical dimensions to be managers of a football club the size of FC Porto”, he defended.
Varandas concluded by stating that it is not Sporting that conditions referees as soon as the appointments are announced and that Villas-Boas is afraid of competing in the championship on the pitch, 11 against 11.
“When a president feels that the team is strong and will be champions, he doesn’t need to do that. He is very afraid, he cannot compete in this championship 11 to 11 with our players. They are trying to punish this and that, let’s get to handball, I already have I don’t know how many cases. He’s a coward, a coward, a coward.”he concluded.
Sporting beat FC Porto 1-0 on Tuesday and came out ahead in the semi-finals of the Portuguese Cup in football, in a first leg, played at the José Alvalade Stadium, in Lisbon.
Colombian Luis Suárez scored, in the 62nd minute, from the penalty spot, the goal for the ‘lions’, who had lost (1-2) at home to the ‘dragons’ in the I League.
The return match, scheduled for Estádio do Dragão, in Porto, does not yet have a date set, and is scheduled to take place between April 21st and 23rd.
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