Porto meeting ABANDONED after ‘darkest day in club history’ as fights break out in crowd and security forced to step in

ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS bemoaned “one of the darkest days in club history” after a Porto meeting was forced to be abandoned.

The former Chelsea and Tottenham boss had announced he would be attending a General Meeting for board members of the football club on Monday.

PA:Press AssociationFormer boss Andre Villas-Boas slammed fighting at Porto’s General Assembly[/caption]

X formerly TwitterFighting broke out at the Porto meeting[/caption]

X formerly TwitterFans clashed over some of the major proposals being put forward[/caption]

X formerly TwitterThe meeting location had to be changed from a venue housing 400 when thousands arrived[/caption]

A meeting had been scheduled to take place at 9pm in an auditorium for 400 people.

But with thousands of people turning up to vote the venue and time was changed at short notice to the club’s stadium at 10:30pm.

The Portuguese giants were asking members to cast their vote on changes to how the club is run, with presidential elections set to be held in April.

However, infighting broke out at the General Assembly, causing the meeting to be postponed until the following Monday (November 20) at 9pm, as reported by Record.

Footage emerged online showing the shocking violence.

Villas-Boas lambasted the scenes on Instagram, saying: “One of the darkest days in FC Porto history. No shame, no scruples, no respect for the Associates of this great Club.

“On November 20 the Partners will make an appearance again.
FC Porto needs to find itself on its principles, its values and its foundations. What has happened today can never happen again.”

He had previously criticised the lack of organisation regarding the meeting as it was changed last minute.

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As well as a change to election dates – which see the date move from April to June – there is a proposal to change how long someone must be a member before they can run for the role of club president.

Currently, a candidate must have been a member for ten consecutive years, but this would change to 15 under new rules.

Voting rights would also change, with members needing two years – one in the junior and one in the senior category – before they can exercise the right to vote.

Other proposed changes include changes to the way members vote owing to transparency and authenticity fears and how members interact with companies.

Changes must be approved with a majority 75 per cent of the vote.

Current club president Pinto da Costa is earmarked to run again – though he has not made his official declaration yet – while Villas-Boas has hinted at his desire to become the club’s president.

The 46-year-old won the Portuguese title, Portuguese Cup, Europa League and Portuguese Super Cup with the Dragons in 2011.

He enjoyed a stunning career change in rally car racing between 2019 and 2021.