Portuguese Athletic Federation (FPA) President Jorge Vieira was shocked on Monday by rumors that Portugal had “bought” 29-year-old athlete Pablo Pichardo.
“There was no temptation. “Purchase” is a term that shocks me, it is impossible to accept such an accusation. The federation didn’t even exchange words with Pichardo before he was naturalized,” Jorge Vieira told the Rádio Observador. .
The FPA president’s words come after Nelson Evora, also on Rádio Observador, accused the federation of buying Pichardo to get “short-term” results.
“I was determined not to interfere [na discussão entre Évora e Pichardo] But [Nelson Évora] concerning the image of the Federation, I must intervene. We never bought a single athlete, the naturalization never came from the federation,” defended the president, who admitted that Pichardo’s naturalization process was faster, but it was done “in accordance with Portuguese law.”
The exchange of accusations between Evora (gold medal in the triple jump in 2008) and Pichardo (gold medal in the same modality in 2021) received a response from the luso-Cuban, who accused the 38-year-old Barcelona athlete of being a “whore”.