FC Bayern was severely punished for misconduct by its fans in the Champions League. The Munich team will not be allowed to hand out tickets to their supporters for the next away game in Europe’s premier football league, UEFA announced on Thursday. The continental association also imposed a fine of 50,750 euros on the German record champions. Bayern announced that they would consider an appeal against the verdict.
Defender Dayot Upamecano was suspended for one game after his red card from the first leg of the round of 16 at Lazio Rome (0-1) and will therefore only be missing from the Bundesliga club in the second leg next Tuesday in Munich. The Frenchman was shown red for a foul in Rome in the 67th minute. Former Dortmund player Ciro Immobile converted the penalty into the winning goal for Lazio.
Bayern fans set off pyrotechnics and threw objects during the game. The UEFA disciplinary committee therefore now enforced a punishment that had been suspended after the group phase. In October, Bayern supporters also set off fireworks and threw objects during the away game against Danish club FC Copenhagen (2-1).
When asked how much such a fan exclusion would affect Munich, coach Thomas Tuchel replied on Thursday: “I hope it affects us. Because overall we have to move forward first.” The 50-year-old said it was not appropriate to comment on this at the moment. You have to reach the quarter-finals first. The fan barrier would then take effect there. A loss against Lazio would affect the first international away game of next season.
Bayern’s CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen spoke of a “very tough decision” and recalled having appealed to the fans in December. The punishment is particularly hard on those fans who behaved correctly. “We have requested the reasons for the decision and are examining the possibility of an appeal,” Dreesen said in a statement.
