Benfica reported this Wednesday that it has been informed by UEFA that it will not be able to receive support from its fans when it travels to the Champions League pitch of RB Salzburg (December 12), as punishment for the bad behavior of the fans in the match v. Real Society. . The club led by Rui Costa remains silent about the matter.
The reports of the English referee Anthony Taylor and the match delegate, Belgian Johny Vanspauwen, were analyzed by UEFA, which opened disciplinary proceedings. This involved throwing about twenty torches. The throwing of pyrotechnic devices started before the start of the match and worsened in the second half, when two flares were thrown into the stands where Basque fans were sitting.
Otamendi also asked fans to stop throwing the flares. At that point it was heard over the stadium audio system that the match would be suspended if the behavior continued.
The sentence could be heavier, taking into account recidivism as an aggravating factor. The harshest punishment would be to receive Inter behind closed doors. And it’s only one. On May 9, Clube da Luz was ordered to pay 35,000 euros and be banned from selling tickets for an away match in European competitions, precisely because of similar behavior, in Milan, against Inter. The Disciplinary Committee ruled that recidivism was an aggravating factor.
In the past two years, Benfica has been punished fourteen times for using and igniting pyrotechnic devices and five times for throwing objects.
Source: DN
