Our monthly round-up of fan violence, racist behaviour and illicit banners that drew UEFA’s attention features Legia, Hajduk, and Partizan. Every month Nations and Balls will provide you with a review of matches that led to fines and stadium bans by UEFA’s disciplinary committee. Our first edition coincides with the qualification rounds for Europe’s club football competitions and predictably has […]
Unfortunately, football clubs and leagues have largely been reluctant to act decisively against extremists within their fan base without the threat of severe punishment. Were Dinamo to possibly face expulsion from Europe, certainly someone would have stopped these dozens of cars from leaving Zagreb. If the current rules don't allow for a ban on Dinamo over Monday's events, these rules need changing.Read more on how Greece’s police and UEFA’s rules proved inadequate to prevent a predictable tragedy this week. ... See MoreSee Less
Indonesia’s getting ready to host next year’s World Cup for under-20s, the first-ever FIFA tournament to be played in their country.However, these plans have been thrown in the air after the unlikely qualification of another nation: Israel. ... See MoreSee Less
Football matches have been held behind closed doors for a variety of reasons. The spectacle of mute stadiums during the pandemic aside, teams are routinely forced to keep their fans out as punishment for their unruly behaviour.Now, we can add preventing a coup to the list, after Moldova’s FC Sheriff was told to play Partizan Belgrade in the company of the Zimbru Stadium’s unused plastic seats. ... See MoreSee Less
Partizan's black and white colours weren't good enough camouflage for some would-be coup plotters. Football matches have been held behind closed doors for a variety of reasons. The spectacle of mute s...