CAS uphold Atletico ban

PSV clash to be played behind closed doors

Last updated: 20th November 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

CAS uphold Atletico ban

Vicente Calderon Stadium

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The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has upheld a ruling that Atletico Madrid must play a UEFA Champions League match in an empty stadium because of racist behavior by fans.

Atletico had argued that Uefa did not have evidence to prove their fans were racist and violent during the game against Marseille on 1st October.

Atletico successfully appealed against an initial penalty after being told by Uefa that they were to play their next two home UEFA Champions League matches at least 300 kilometres (186 miles) away from Madrid.

That ban would have affected the 1-1 draw with Liverpool in the Spanish capital on 22nd October, but Atletico asked Uefa to suspend the punishment.

However, in a reduced ban, the European governing body has now told Atletico that they must play their game with PSV Eindhoven on 26th November in front of no supporters.

Ateltico appealed the reduced ban but CAS rejected the appeal on Thursday.

However, it reduced a fine the Spanish club has to pay to 75,000 euros (£63,000) from the 150,000 euros (£126,000) ordered by Uefa last month.

The decision means Atletico will play next week's game against PSV Eindhoven behind closed doors at the Vicente Calderon.

A CAS statement read: "Having examined the arguments and evidence submitted by the parties, the CAS Panel, in line with Uefa, concluded that Atletico Madrid committed several serious security breaches during the match against Olympique Marseille, which allowed the incidents to occur at the Vicente Calderon stadium.

"The club's situation is made worse by events of the recent past which led the Panel to uphold the sanction of playing the match on 26 November 2008 behind closed doors.

"However, the second match behind closed doors (currently suspended) was overturned and the fine was reduced by half in light of the fact that the racist acts alleged by Uefa could not be established with certainty. The reasons for the decision will be published at a later date."