FIFA sets Portugal deadline
Reuters, Lisbon
FIFA has given Portugal's soccer federation until Sept. 14 to resolve a legal row over club Gil Vicente which has disrupted the start of the country's Premier League season, the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) said on Monday.According to the FPF Web site, FIFA had decided to hold a meeting of its emergency committee to consider suspending the FPF from all international tournaments if there was no resolution by Sept. 14. "This situation not only weakens soccer as well as affecting the integrity of competitions," the Portuguese federation cited FIFA as saying. There was nobody immediately available for comment from FIFA when contacted by Reuters. The row started earlier this month with the relegation of Gil Vicente from the Premier League after they used an ineligible player, Mateus. The small club with 5,500 members challenged the suspension of the Angolan player in a civil court, contravening league and FIFA rules.
| 
