UEFA order Marseille to play Europa League game behind closed doors
|Published
UNREST: Olympique de Marseille's followers shout slogans against Athletic Bilbao's fans before the Europa League round of 16, 2nd leg, match between Athletic Bilbao and Olympique Marseille, at San Mames stadium, in Bilbao, northern Spain, Thursday, March 15, 2018. Photo: Alvaro Barrientos/AP UNREST: Olympique de Marseille's followers shout slogans against Athletic Bilbao's fans before the Europa League round of 16, 2nd leg, match between Athletic Bilbao and Olympique Marseille, at San Mames stadium, in Bilbao, northern Spain, Thursday, March 15, 2018. Photo: Alvaro Barrientos/AP
Olympique Marseille have been ordered to play their
Europa League match against Eintracht Frankfurt next week behind
closed doors following incidents in several matches last season
including the Europa League final in Lyon.
The French club has to play two matches behind closed doors but the
second closure is subject to a two-year probationary period, UEFA
said Monday.
The ruling is among several sanctions on Marseille by the appeals
body of European football's governing body, partially upholding
sanctions passed in July.
Marseille are playing Bundesliga club Frankfurt at home in a Europa
League group-stage match on Thursday September 20.
The club must also partially close its stadium for the subsequent two
UEFA matches - against Lazio and Apollon Limassol of Cyprus - with
two more partial closures subject to a probationary period. The
closures relate to the northern and southern stands.
In addition it has been fined 100,000 euros (116,000 dollars) and
told to contact Olympique Lyon within 30 daysto pay for damage caused
by its supporters at the Europa League final against Atletico Madrid
in Lyon on May 16.
The rulings follow an appeal lodged by Marseille against a suspended
one-year ban from European competition handed down among other
sanctions by the UEFA control, ethics and disciplinary body on July
19.
Disciplinary proceedings were launched after crowd incidents at
matches against RB Leipzig on April 12, Salzburg on April 26 and May
3, and against Atletico in Lyon.
The proceedings followed crowd disturbances, acts of damage, the
setting off of fireworks, throwing of objects and a late kick-off,
UEFA said.