What does UEFA’s suspended partial stadium closure on Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu mean?

On Friday, UEFA announced disciplinary action against Real Madrid for incidents that occurred during the second leg of the Champions League playoff against Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Real Madrid hit with suspended partial stadium closure

The sanction includes a partial closure of the stadium, although punishment is suspended for a two-year probationary period. If a similar incident occurs within this timeframe, the partial closure of the Bernabéu will be enforced. Additionally, UEFA’s Appeals Body has fined Real Madrid €30,000.

UEFA’s statement does not specify the exact incident that led to the sanction. However, it cites Article 14.2 of UEFA’s Disciplinary Regulations, which states: “If one or more supporters of a member association or club engage in the behavior described in paragraph 1, the responsible member association or club is punished with a minimum of a partial stadium closure.”

Paragraph 1 of Article 14 outlines that “Any person subject to Article 3 (which defines those under disciplinary jurisdiction) who insults the human dignity of a person or group of persons for any reason, including skin color, race, religion, ethnic origin, gender, or sexual orientation, is subject to a suspension lasting at least ten matches or for a specified period, or any other appropriate sanction.”

Madrid fans taunt Guardiola

During the match, no widespread offensive chants were reported, aside from a segment of Real Madrid’s supporter section targeting Pep Guardiola with a chant they have been signing about the City manager for several years: “Oh, Guardiola, you’re looking so thin. First, it was the drugs. Now we see you strolling through [Madrid’s LGBTQ quarter] Chueca.” However, UEFA’s official communication does not clarify which incident led to the sanction.

The disciplinary measure includes a partial closure of at least 500 adjacent seats at the Santiago Bernabéu during Real Madrid’s next European home game. However, this penalty is suspended for a two-year probationary period, starting from the resolution date.

UEFA clarifies that the suspension means the punishment is not immediately enforced but could be activated if another similar violation occurs during the probation period, as outlined in Article 26.3 of UEFA’s Disciplinary Regulations.

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