Portugal's Abel Xavier claimed he was deeply shocked after being handed a nine-month ban from all UEFA competitions for his part in the fracas at the end of last week's 2-1 defeat in the semi-finals of Euro 2000. The Everton defender was adjudged to have handled Sylvain Wiltord's shot four minutes before the end of the match against France in Brussels – a decision which sparked furious scenes in the Portuguese camp. It took several minutes for order to be restored, allowing Zinedine Zidane to score the winner from the resulting penalty.
Striker Nuno Gomes was also banned for eight months, midfielder Paulo Bento for six months and the Portuguese federation received a 175,000 Swiss franc (£70,300) fine from Europe's governing body. Portugal have until midnight on July 5 to appeal against the ruling, which also applies to both the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. If FIFA, the game's world governing body, adopts the suspensions, the players could be ruled out of Portugal's opening qualifying matches for the 2002 World Cup, including the match against the Republic of Ireland .
According to UEFA's statement, Austrian referee Gunter Benko and his assistant Igor Sranka, who spotted the handball, suffered bruising and scratching after being jostled by a number of players. The statement also added that the fourth official, who also intervened trying to protect his colleagues, was harassed, pushed in the back and had his shirt pulled. A Portuguese player also spat at Sranka.
