The presidents of Portugal’s big three were back disgracing themselves again after the Taca de Portugal semi-finals.
Sporting CP beat FC Porto 1-0 in the first leg, and after presidents Frederico Varandas and Andre Villas-Boas again made it all about themselves.
The match was won by a Luis Suarez penalty, but before that the Colombian forward was involved in an even bigger flashpoint.
Suarez demanded a second yellow for Alberto Costa and Porto claim he called the referees ‘thieves’ leading to a touchline scuffle.
Speaking post-match, former coach Villas-Boas brought up a rather strange analogy.
“As a coach in China (with Shanghai, in 2016-2017), I received a four-match suspension for a gesture similar to Suarez’s,” he said.
“Suarez just called the referee a thief with gestures. I want to know if Suarez will be suspended for four matches or if the Portuguese league can be compared to the Chinese league.
“The example is clear, and I’ve experienced it firsthand. Just as I expected the Sporting president to be sanctioned by the Disciplinary Board, which dismissed a very serious accusation concerning the refereeing, I hope Suarez will be punished.”
Varandas fires back against FC Porto’s Villas-Boas
Sporting’s president then had his say, and in typical fashion Varandas didn’t hold back.
“I’m going to have to talk a lot about the FC Porto president,” he began.
“His rudeness is blatant, because he was a coach, he held press conferences, and you don’t interrupt a coach. He refuses to listen.
“He wants to construct a narrative… Now, they’re going to make Suárez the scapegoat…
“Do you know why? I see the FC Porto president very frightened, because he’s a coach.
“He looks at the pitch and sees what I see. He thinks the team isn’t good enough to be champions.
“That’s his fear: they’re playing badly. That’s the FC Porto narrative. I see a team that’s top of the league, but doesn’t even know how it got there and is afraid.
“So Suárez should get a four-match suspension? He says: ‘I was in China.’ In that democratic republic, a democratic country.
“Did you ask him if he was using videos to influence the referees? He probably deserved a 40-match suspension.”
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