red card shown in euro cup 2000
Sun 02 July 2000
Three players banned as UEFA punish Portugal
UEFA have imposed heavy penalties on the Portuguese national association and three members of the Portuguese team as a result of the incidents which took place at the end of Wednesday's semi-final against France.
Officials harassed UEFA's Control & Disciplinary Body announce their decision after meeting on Sunday morning in Rotterdam. They based their decision on the fact that in the 116th minute of a match in which five Portuguese players had been cautioned, the referee and his first assistant were pushed and harassed by Portuguese players, suffering bruising and scratches. The fourth official, who intervened in a bid to protect his colleagues, was also harassed, pushed in the back and pulled by his clothing. The referee, advised by his assistant, had awarded the French team a penalty for handball. The Portuguese coach eventually calmed down his players sufficiently for the penalty to be taken after a delay of some four to five minutes.
After the spot-kick had been converted, almost all the Portuguese players ran towards the assistant referee, who was pushed and insulted. An unidentified Portuguese player spat at him. Nuno Gomes gave the referee a violent push in the chest and Abel Xavier grabbed him by the arm.
The referee then showed the red card to Nuno Gomes, whereupon Paulo Bento tried to take the red card from him by grabbing his arm. Nuno Gomes then removed his shirt and threw it in the direction of the assistant referee.
Heavy fine, lengthy bans
In the light of these incidents, the Control & Disciplinary Body decided to impose a fine of 175,000 Swiss francs on the Portuguese national association. Three players have also received lengthy suspensions: Abel Xavier is suspended from all matches in UEFA competitions for nine months (until the end of March 2001), Nuno Gomes is suspended from all matches in UEFA competitions for eight months (until the end of February 2001), and Paulo Bento is suspended from all matches in UEFA competitions for six months (until the end of December 2000).
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