Portugal soccer federation seeks legal action to avoid FIFA ban - Sports - International Herald Tribune

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Portugal soccer federation seeks legal action to avoid FIFA ban - Sports - International Herald Tribune: " Portugal soccer federation seeks legal action to avoid FIFA ban
The Associated Press

Published: September 6, 2006


LISBON, Portugal The Portuguese soccer federation asked a Lisbon court Wednesday to grant it exceptional powers in order to avoid a threatened FIFA ban.

Getting a public interest order would enable the federation to override a previous court decision blocking the relegation of a team - Gil Vicente - to the second division.

FIFA threatened Monday to ban Portuguese teams from all international competitions if the dispute - which has disrupted the domestic league schedule - is not settled by Sept. 14.

Portugal plays Finland later Wednesday in a European Championship qualifier, and three Portuguese clubs - FC Porto, Benfica and Sporting Lisbon - have qualified for the Champions League.

The dispute started at the end of last season when northern club Gil Vicente remained in the first division by a point while Lisbon team Belenenses was demoted to the second division.

Belenenses then accused Gil Vicente of fielding an unregistered player - Mateus Galeano da Costa - and going to civil courts to settle a sports dispute, which is a violation of domestic and FIFA regulations.

The Portuguese League demoted Gil Vicente to the second division and brought Belenenses back to the first.

In turn, Gil Vicente appealed - and lost - at the Justice Council, Portuguese sport's highest court of appeal, before winning a civil court order for its reinstatement in the first division.