There was no contrition over the indelible stain Portugal's exit from Euro 2000 had left behind. Only a deep and bitter sense of grievance.

It did not matter that the television evidence proved undeniably that Slovak linesman Igor Sramka had made the spot of the tournament when Abel Xavier handled Sylvain Wiltord's shot.

It seemed not to bother anybody that Portugal's reaction to the decision and Zinedine Zidane's conversion of the resulting golden goal spot-kick had been an utter disgrace.

Instead, all the talk was of intrigue and conspiracy, the claims that UEFA had demanded France reach Sunday's final in Rotterdam.

Striker Nuno Gomes, sent off for swearing at Austrian referee Gunter Benko, and who had waited to ambush the official by throwing his shirt at him, did not affect even the slightest element of self-reproach.

The Benfica forward said: 'I know it didn't look good at the end but if you'd been on that pitch and felt like we did, you would have felt the same way.

'I still don't know why I was sent off. I didn't swear at him or say anything nasty. I was just talking to him and told him that it wasn't right for him to be joking with their players after what he'd done to us.

'But I didn't throw my shirt at the referee. I wanted to give it to him, so he could take it home with him and so every time he looked at it he'd remember what he did to our country.'

Portugal had reason to argue that Thierry Henry's equaliser for France should have been ruled out for offside against Nicolas Anelka. Yet that could not justify their response, which saw even Luis Figo overwhelmed.

The Barcelona winger said: 'There will be a lot of people who are happy now, after what happened to us, but the ones who are the most happy will be UEFA. We are a little country and a lot of people were interested in us not being in the final.

'I'd have preferred not to have played the game at all and just been told that France had won 3-0 than go through what we had to.

'That's why I took my shirt off when the penalty was given. I wanted to go to the dressing room. When things like that are done to you, then you just don't want to play any more.'

UEFA will wait until Sunday to hand out its punishment, although the question is surely one of just how draconian it will have to be, with Xavier's complaints unlikely to aid matters.

The Everton defender said: 'I respect Slovakia a lot but I think it's unbelievable in a semi-final between Portugal and France to have a Slovakian linesman.' Portuguese legend Eusebio echoed the feeling that his nation had been 'cheated'.

'We were wronged in the 1966 World Cup and now we come back to be penalised by being a country with little influence at worldwide level,' he said. 'The small one always suffers, but we showed we can beat any team in the world.

'What transpired yesterday is unacceptable and unforgivable, having been eliminated by a referee's assistant who was afraid of France, the champions of the world.'