Stories circulating in Rotterdam yesterday suggested that UEFA will impose a heavy penalty on the Portuguese Football Federation arising out of the fracas which followed last Wednesday's game against France in Brussels, when incensed players reacted to the awarding of a crucial penalty to the French by jostling match officials. Alarmed by the images projected to millions of television viewers, the European body is said to be determined to impose sanctions fitting the gravity of the offence.

Members of the Disciplinary Committee, including the IFA general secretary David Bowen, have been looking at video evidence of the scenes which followed the award of the controversial penalty which was converted by Zinedine Zidane to win the quarter-final in extra-time.

Significantly, the committee shrank from making a definitive judgement at their first meeting on Thursday, preferring to assemble further evidence before announcing their findings tomorrow.

Earlier in the competition, the Yugoslav Federation was fined for breaches of discipline by players and supporters, and the speculation is that the European authorities are now poised to take even sterner action against Portugal.

Of more immediate concern to Ireland will be the fate of the players who first surrounded and then jostled the Slovakian linesman, Igor Sramka and later the referee, Gunter Benko of Austria.

Only one Portuguese player, Nuno Gomes was shown the red card before the teams left the pitch, but it subsequently emerged that other players became involved in incidents outside the referee's dressing room.

Depending on verification, that could have serious repercussions for Portugal, who are due to meet the Republic of Ireland in a vital World Cup qualifying game in Lisbon on October 15th. They are already committed to replacing Gomes, who will be automatically suspended for his part in the Brussels mayhem, and there is now the possibility of others joining him on the banned list.