UEFA halves Feyenoord’s sanctions on appeal, but Marseilles, Fenerbache and Bologna feel the force

UEFA’s disciplinary machine has handed down a sweeping series of rulings covering its club competitions including fines, sector closures and suspended sanctions.

Across the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, the Appeals Body and the CEDB addressed a catalogue of offences, leaving several clubs with immediate restrictions and others operating under lengthy probation.

The headline sanction was in Rotterdam, where Feyenoord’s appeal was only half-landed. The club managed to shave down part of the original verdict, but the Appeal Body has still triggered the enforcement of a previously suspended sanction for fireworks misuse.

It means the Gerard Meijer Tribune will be shut for one home match in Europe, with another partial closure hanging over the club for two years if supporters slip up again. A €60,000 fine adds weight to a decision that leaves De Kuip under the microscope once more and smarting from the consequences of their own actions.

Marseille’s combustible night against Atalanta in the Champions League produced a long charge sheet: fireworks, object throwing, laser pointers, blocked passageways and abusive language directed at an official. The bill totals €71,625 and a suspended partial closure of the South Stand across 13 sectors. Even staff weren’t spared – team member Alexandre Salvat will sit out two UEFA games for abusing a match official.

Bologna’s goalless draw with Brann brought its own reckoning: €50,500 in fines across a spread of offences, from lasers and fireworks to a suspended closure of the Tribuna Bulgarelli. Defender Charalampos Lykogiannis has also been retrospectively banned for one game for ‘rough play’.

In Plzeň, both clubs felt the consequences. Viktoria Plzeň were hit with a €21,000 package for racist behaviour and blocked passageways, while Fenerbahçe were smacked with more than €78,000 in fines, plus a suspended away-ticket ban and an order to pay for damaged seats and graffiti.

In Slovenia, NK Celje and Legia Warszawa each face a hefty fine for illegal fireworks. Celje face a €30,000 fine and a suspended sector closure, whilst Legia have had a previously suspended away-ticket ban activated, plus an additional €20,000 fine and another suspended ban for repeat offences.