Portugal suspends coach Queiroz for 1 month
The Portuguese Football Federation suspended national coach Carlos Queiroz for one month on Thursday after a disciplinary committee found him guilty of misconduct.
Queiroz was ordered to pay ?1,000 ($1,280) after the committee ruled he insulted an anti-doping team sent to test the Portugal squad ahead of the World Cup, and that his aggressive behavior disrupted their work, the federation said in a statement.
Queiroz will not be available for 2012 European Championship qualifiers against Cyprus on Sept. 3 and Norway four days later.
Queiroz, whose has spent two years as Portugal coach, fought the charges. Last week, Manchester United coach and former colleague Alex Ferguson testified on Queiroz's behalf as a character witness.
The decision came after Queiroz guided Portugal through a disappointing World Cup campaign in South Africa, where it went out in the second round against eventual champion Spain.
Queiroz complained last month he was being subjected to a ''public lynching'' as details of the inquiry into the incident that happened in May were leaked to the media.
Officials sent to carry out routine tests on Portugal players said Queiroz harassed and intimidated them and used foul language, according to media reports.
Disrupting doping tests is punishable by law, either with a fine of up to ?10,000 ($12,800) or a suspension of up to four years.
Queiroz has previously said he was angry that the unannounced early morning tests had disturbed the players. None of them tested positive.
The Portuguese Sports Institute, which oversees doping tests, opened an inquiry into Queiroz's conduct, which it sent to the secretary of state for sport, who then forwarded its findings to the federation for action.
Queiroz, who has two years remaining on his contract, leads Portugal into Euro 2012 qualifying campaign in Group H, which also includes Denmark and Iceland.