Belenenses docked six points

Setubal move into Uefa Cup berth

The hammer has finally fallen on Belenenses as the club failed in their appeal against a six-point deduction for fielding an illegible player back in January.

The loss of points means that Belenenses drop to 9th place in the standings, taking them out of contention for a European berth next season. Chief beneficiaries from the decision are Setubal, with Carlos Carvalhal’s side moving into fifth place – the last Uefa Cup qualification spot – with two matches remaining.

The penalty derives from the moment Belenenses registered striker Albert Meyong Ze in the January transfer window and utilised the forward in their 2-1 win against Naval on the 13th of that same month.

Trouble ensued shortly afterwards as it transpired the player had already represented two other clubs (Levante & Albacete) in the same season, prohibiting him from taking to the field with another club until June this year, according to Uefa and Portuguese football regulations.

The situation caused such bad feeling that the previous board all resigned from their posts. The Lisbon based club, now under new administration, appealed against their punishment to the top authority of Portuguese football, but their arguments have been thrown out.

Original decision upheld

The Portuguese Football Federation’s Justice Council ruled in favour of the original decision of the Disciplinary Committee of the Professional Portuguese Football League earlier this year and now the team will be docked six points and made to pay the original fines of 2,500 euros for the club and 625 euros for the player himself.

The penalty is a huge blow to the club who were hoping for leniency as they tried to put the whole ugly mess behind them. It appears the club have accepted their fate, although they may try to appeal to the Arbitral Tribunal of Sport in Switzerland to determine if they are entitled any kind of compensation, which seems unlikely.

To round off a bad day for Belenenses, central defender Hugo Alcantara is out for the rest of the season, plus the opener for next year, as the Blues stopper was handed a three-match suspension for having slapped Benfica midfielder Katsouranis in the face in the team’s 2-0 defeat this past weekend.

Benfica bound Ruben Amorim is also suspended for one match having accumulated five yellow cards, and will miss the home game against Vitoria Guimaraes.