BASEL (Reuters) - UEFA will decide on Wednesday whether coaches Joachim Loew of Germany and Austria's Josef Hickersberger will incur further punishment after being sent to the stands during Monday's Euro 2008 Group B match.

UEFA's disciplinary committee will consider the match report from referee Manuel Mejuto of Spain and statements from the German and Austrian soccer federations before deciding if a touchline ban is warranted, spokesman William Gaillard said on Tuesday.

There is no automatic ban for coaches who are sent off, unlike for players, but if Loew suffers that fate he will be unable to contact his players once they arrive at the stadium in Basel for Thursday's quarter-final with Portugal, Gaillard added.

As Austria were knocked out of the tournament after losing the match 1-0, any suspension for Hickersberger would apply to his next official match in charge, whether for Austria or any other nation, Gaillard told a news conference in Vienna.

The double dismissal shortly before halftime, which Loew said was due to a dispute with the fourth official, was greeted by jeers from both sets of fans at the Ernst Happel stadium in Vienna.

Loew was warmly greeted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the stands and spent the rest of the match watching with midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, who was serving a one-match ban after his sending off against Croatia last Thursday.

"It seems the two coaches were bickering and left their technical areas," Gaillard said.

"The fourth official alerted the referee and the second time he came over he sent them off," he added.

If suspended, Loew would have the right to appeal and a hearing could be arranged very quickly, Gaillard said.

"You often see referees sending off coaches," he said, noting that Barcelona's Frank Rijkaard was sent off for arguing with the referee during a Champions League match against Olympique Lyon in November.

"It's rather uncommon to see both coaches sent off," he added.

Rijkaard was given a two-match touchline ban for the incident.

UEFA said immediately after Monday's match they would rule on the incident on Tuesday, but Gaillard said the disciplinary body wanted to wait until after Tuesday's matches so they could deal with any further issues that might arise.

(Editing by Trevor Huggins)