Ball – Miguel Braga and VAR: “No change protects officials and proven strength” (Sporting)

Sporting’s director of communications stressed the need for the voice between referees and the VAR system to be public to help make football more credible. Miguel Braga cannot understand the opposition that Leonen’s offer has received from other clubs, namely FC Porto and Benfica.

Not two months after the Portuguese Football Association’s Arbitration Board (CA) rejected Sporting’s proposals to publish VAR audios, arguing that “the proposed rules appear to be illegal, of course by law, and inadmissible against the binding guidelines of the Portuguese Football Association.” IFAB and FIFA, “The Premier League has announced that it wants conversations between referees and VAR to be available to the world at the end of every match, via the YouTube platform,” began the front-runner in the editorial from Leonine newspaper.

Miguel Braga lamented that Benfica and Porto were also not in favor of disclosing the referees’ conversations: “It was not only the CA that was against making VAR available to the public: Benfica and Porto also voted against Leonin’s proposals, saying in their favour, but using ethereal arguments to justify the opposition by voting against it. While there is a struggle in England to change and improve football, a tremendous effort is being made in Portugal to keep everything the same. Lack of change protects officials and fixtures, and proven energy wants to stay.”