Polish side, Legia Warsaw, will have no fans at their next five European away games, UEFA said on Wednesday, following crowd disturbances ahead of their Europa Conference League match at Aston Villa last month.
Legia fans were barred entry to the match in Birmingham on Nov. 30 following clashes with police outside the stadium and the Premier League side lodged a complaint with UEFA over the behaviour of the club’s supporters.
The UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body decided to ban Legia from selling tickets to their away supporters for the next five UEFA games for crowd disturbances, acts of damage, throwing of objects and lighting of fireworks.
The club has also been fined $107,880 and ordered to contact Aston Villa within 30 days for the settlement of the damages caused by their supporters.
UEFA has also fined the Ukrainian FA €20,000 for the racist behaviour of their supporters during the Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy, ordering a partial stadium closure during their next home UEFA competition match.
Meanwhile, FC Cologne have been fined $641,529 for setting off pyrotechnics at their October home game against Borussia Monchengladbach, the Bundesliga club said on Wednesday, after a criminal complaint from the German Football Association (DFB).
Numerous flares were ignited in the south stand area of the stadium before and during the derby clash, as Cologne won 3-1 on Oct. 22, with smoke delaying kickoff by more than six minutes.
“For the active fan scene, the use of pyrotechnics is part of football and fan culture. But: No red lines must be crossed,” Cologne Managing Director, Christian Keller, said.
“The safety of spectators must always be guaranteed and there must be no impact on the sporting events. These limits were clearly exceeded against Gladbach.
“This also results in enormous financial damage. The high fine hits Cologne very hard on its path to economic recovery as quickly as possible.”
Cologne will appeal to the DFB control committee to significantly reduce the penalty, the club said.
“The awarding of association penalties in this form is far removed from the reality of German football and fan culture,” Keller added.
“We will therefore continue to actively and vigorously advocate for a sensible adaptation of the sentencing guidelines and for an appropriate way of dealing with this culture.”
—ESPN
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