Six-month ban for Queiroz confirmed

Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz was yesterday handed a six month ban by the Portuguese Anti-doping Authority (AdoP) for insulting anti-doping officials.

News of the suspension had first surfaced in the local media on Monday with Queiroz saying then he would appeal the sanction “before the court of arbitration for sport”.

The underfire Portugal coach has asked for the ban which he termed “erroneous and abusive” to be suspended pending his appeal.

The former Manchester United assistant manager is already serving a one month ban dished out by the Portuguese Football Federation for insulting officials who had turned up to test his players at a pre-World Cup training camp in May.

In a statement AdoP claimed Queiroz had “hindered the collecting of samples” as a result of “the hostile environment generated around the operation”.

Queirez is also accused of injuring AdoP president Luis Horta.

The 57-year-old will miss Portugal’s first two Euro 2012 qualifiers tomorrow and next Tuesday, as well as a further two qualifiers in October.

He faces trouble on a separate front after accusing Portugal Football Federation vice president Amandio de Carvalho of trying to get him kicked out of his job.

Queiroz took over in July 2008 with a contract which runs until 2012.

He was heavily criticised for Portugal’s World Cup finals campaign where they went out in the last 16, losing to eventual champions Spain.