BRUSSELS, March 7 (Reuters) - Enzo Scifo, the former Belgian international and coach of first division club Charleroi, has been suspended for four matches after clashing with a linesman, his lawyer said on Thursday.
"The referee said Enzo Scifo pushed the linesman. It's
something Scifo has admitted but he also said he had been
insulted and threatened in an aggressive manner," lawyer
Jean-Pierre Deprez said.
He said Scifo had a week to appeal the suspension.
"There's no urgency. It's something we should discuss
properly," Deprez said.
The alleged incident took place during Charleroi's 3-3 draw
against Westerlo on February 10. Lacklustre Charleroi are
currently in 10th place in the 18-club league.
The 36-year-old Scifo, who has coached Charleroi since
November 2000, said he was disappointed by the Federation's
decision.
"A one match suspension or a year's suspension is the same
thing for me," Scifo was reported by the Belga news agency as
saying. "If they are going to discipline me for that they might
as well discipline every coach every weekend."
STRUGGLING CLUB
Charleroi-born Scifo led a consortium which took over the
struggling southern Belgium club shortly before they narrowly
avoided relegation in the 1999-2000 season.
During his heyday, Scifo - a classy and stylish midfielder
- was Belgium's most feted player with 84 international caps
and 18 goals.
The diminutive playmaker won four Belgian titles with
Anderlecht, the French championships with Monaco, the Italian
Cup with Torino as well as playing in four World Cups.
The national team have failed to replace his flair since
injury forced him to hang up his boots in December 2000, when he
was diagnosed with chronic arthritis of the hip.
- NEWS
