Russia fined £150,000 & given suspended disqualification

Russia handed suspended Euro 2016 disqualification and fined €150,000

• Uefa charges over ‘crowd disturbances, use of fireworks and racist behaviour’
• Any further incidents will see Russia disqualified from tournament

Russia have been handed a suspended disqualification from Euro 2016 over crowd disturbances at the game against England in Marseille on Saturday, Uefa has announced.

Charges from the governing body to the Russian Football Union relate to “crowd disturbances, use of fireworks and racist behaviour” around the 1-1 draw with England at the Stade Vélodrome on Saturday.

Uefa’s control, ethics and disciplinary body met in Paris to consider the case and imposed the suspended disqualification and a €150,000 financial penalty.

However, any further incidents of crowd disturbance inside grounds at Russia’s matches during the European Championship will see the suspension lifted and the country thrown out of Euro 2016.

The sanctions were outlined in a statement by the independent control, ethics and disciplinary body, in which it confirmed: “A suspended disqualification of the Russian national team from Uefa Euro 2016 for the crowd disturbances.

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“In accordance with Article 20 of the Uefa Disciplinary Regulations this disqualification is suspended until the end of the tournament.

“Such suspension will be lifted if incidents of a similar nature (crowd disturbances) happen inside the stadium at any of the remaining matches of the Russian team during the tournament.”

The decision only relates to incidents which occurred inside the stadium and are therefore under the jurisdiction of the Uefa disciplinary bodies. The decision is open to appeal.

Prior to Uefa’s announcement, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Vladimir Putin in Moscow, said: “Violations of the law have been committed by fans from various nations, who have gone on rampages in Marseille and some other places. It’s absolutely unacceptable, and we certainly expect our citizens to respect the country’s laws. Regrettably, fans from various nations have taken part in those rampages, regrettably including Russia.”

If Russia were to be disqualified from the tournament, Group B could be thrown into turmoil due to Article 27 of Uefa’s regulations, which states: “If an association is disqualified during the competition, the results of all of its matches are declared null and void, and the points awarded forfeited.”

Guardian