Bernabéu passes UEFA’s first big test

The Bernabéu behaved exemplarily against Manchester City – impeccably, even. UEFA’s rap on the knuckles, including a fine, over an isolated incident in the run-up to the previous game against Benfica led to a pact in the stands. On the eve of the match, the Grada Fans circulated a message among its members urging them to avoid any kind of behavior that might trigger UEFA’s threat of a partial stadium closure, and the game unfolded in an atmosphere of sportsmanship amid the rivalry.

With only a small crowd inside at first, the stadium greeted City’s goalkeepers with whistles when they came out to warm up. They picked up again, with many more fans now in their seats, when the public-address system began announcing City’s lineup. It was a brief gust of noise, fading as the players’ names went by, before thundering when Pep Guardiola’s name was heard. Some rivalries are never forgotten, though that was the only hint of hostility directed at the coach from Santpedor. One of the instructions in that call for order was to avoid offensive chants aimed at Guardiola, and there were none.

To avoid any suspicion whatsoever, in an initiative that came from the stand’s own members rather than the club, fans were asked not to bring flags from Spain or any other country. Only club symbols were to be displayed. A few national flags appeared timidly before kickoff and again after the final whistle, but no more than that. The members of Grada Fans complied scrupulously with the required uniformity: all in white.

Valverde took it upon himself to silence the meager traveling support with goals – City returned 2,500 tickets, and the small section set aside for them was left half-empty. Everything else was encouragement: ovations for Valverde and Thiago, chants backing Vini after he missed the penalty, applause for Güler and Brahim ... aside from a few whistles reserved for Haaland.

The Bernabéu and Grada Fans were under UEFA’s microscope, and they passed the test. A Nazi salute by a fan in that section during the previous European home game cost the club – which reacted quickly by ejecting him from the stadium, condemning the gesture, and opening disciplinary proceedings to expel him as a member – a fine of about $16,000 and a partial closure of that section in the south stand. UEFA suspended the sanction, on the condition that there be no new incident for a year. First test: flawless. And to finish: “That’s how Madrid win, that’s how Madrid win.”

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