Comedy of errors forces Belenenses board to resign

Meyong blunder set to cost club six points

The Belenenses board have resigned en masse in the wake of the Meyong debacle which is set to cost the club a six-point penalty.

President, Cabral Ferreira, and his six vice-presidents all have handed in their resignations and will step down from their posts at the end of the month.

The abandonment of the Belenenses brass comes in light of their failure to realise Meyong was illegible to play for them having already represented two other clubs in official competition this season.

The Blues had contracted the former striker on loan from Levante during the current transfer window and brought him on in the second half of the game against Naval, with the Cameroonian scoring the winning goal from the penalty spot.

But FIFA and FPF regulations state that no player can represent more than two clubs during the period from July 1 to June 30 the following year. Meyong played for Levante in August and was then loaned out to Albacete before making his move to Belenenses.

The whole scenario has proved a comedy of errors as the club were informed by the FPF of the player’s status, but registered the striker anyway.

Since then, club executives have been pointing fingers at one another for the crass oversight. Last week, the club’s director of football, Carlos Janela, alleviated himself from his duties for dropping the ball with this particular transfer.

Taking over the capsized ship on an interim basis will be the president of the General Assembly, Jose Manuel Anes. Elections are expected to take place in May to select a new club supremo.

It is yet to be seen how this embarrassing turn of events will affect the team. The loss of six points will make it extremely difficult, although not impossible, for the club to achieve Uefa Cup qualification for the second successive season.