Former Fulham and Everton boss Marco Silva has suggested he could walk away from his new job just three months into the role.
Silva left Fulham at the end of last season following the expiry of his contract, with Alvaro Arbeloa taking charge at Craven Cottage.
Things haven’t gone perfectly for the former Liverpool defender, with the club currently 19th in the Premier League table after five games.
But it hasn’t been much better for Silva either. The Portuguese took the reins at Benfica in his homeland, but was left frustrated after his side’s 3-1 defeat at rivals Porto.
It led Silva to hint that he could walk away from his role already, particularly taking aim at the refereeing performance in the match.
‘I won’t comment on the sending off,’ he said, after defender Clement Lenglet was given his marching orders before half-time. ‘If the club has something to say about the match, I think it should say it.
Marco Silva has hinted he could walk away from his new role at Benfica just three months after joining the club
‘I don’t know if I’ll be able to continue like this until the end of the season, because I come from a different culture.
‘Here, unfortunately, you can influence referees before matches, after them and during the week, and sometimes it works. I’m not going to go down that route.’
Benfica are second in the league table, though already five points behind Porto after their first defeat of the season.
Silva is no stranger to airing his refereeing frustrations, having been slapped with a £90,000 fine and a one-match touchline ban last season for comments after Fulham’s defeat by West Ham.
‘The referee’s decisions were at a very low level in my opinion,’ Silva said back in March. ‘It has been a little bit the story of our season when John Brooks has been involved with us.
‘Even our penalty (shout), I repeat again that John Brooks took and decided against the on-field decision. It’s very difficult to understand these mistakes against ourselves, but it is what it is.’
Porto president Andre Villas-Boas, meanwhile, was complimentary of referee Miguel Nogueira after his side’s win.
‘I think it was great refereeing,’ former Chelsea and Tottenham boss Villas-Boas said.
He added: ‘The statistic I know is that Porto have 21 points and seven wins.’
