Portuguese clubs could be suspended from UEFA competitions
World football's ruling body FIFA could sanction the Portuguese football federation (FPF) for its part in the demotion of former top -flight side Gil Vicente, according to reports Thursday.
According to daily newspaper Record, FPF president Gilberto Madail has been summoned to FIFA's headquarters in Zurich to explain why Gil Vicente were allowed to appeal to a civil court in a bid to maintain their top flight status.
FIFA's regulations forbid federations or clubs appealing to civil courts to resolve conflicts.
Gil Vicente were initially demoted to Portugal's second division following the "Mateus" affair.
Relegation-threatened top-flight side Belenenses lodged an official complaint a few months ago saying that Angolan Mateus Galiano was playing illegally at Gil Vicente.
League officials upheld the complaint, and decided to relegate Gil Vicente for a perceived infraction, thus allowing Belenenses to conserve its top-flight status.
Gil Vicente then appealed to a civil court because it deemed the conflict was relevant to the country's labour laws and not strictly a sporting issue.
And by allowing the club to do so, the FPF could find itself in hot water with FIFA.
According to Record, Portugal even risks being suspended from its first Euro 2008 group A qualifier against Finland on September 6 in Helsinki.