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UEFA, the governing body of football in Europe, has banned Barcelona fans from travelling to their next Champions League fixture due to their racist behaviour during last week’s 2-1 defeat against Monaco. The charge is connected to the presence of a Nazi symbolism in the away end at the Stade Louis II in Monaco, where Barcelona fans were seated, and because of that, they will not be in attendance at the Red Star Stadium in Belgrade during their team’s match against Crvena Zvezda.
Apart from banning the fans, UEFA has fined Barcelona €10,000, and they prohibited them from selling away tickets to one additional UEFA competition match, but at the same time, the ban is suspended for a probationary period of one year. Notably, Barcelona fans had displayed a black flag at the Stade Louis II in Monaco, which had the words “Flick Heil,” which was looked upon as an apparent tribute to their manager Hansi Flick.
Barcelona were fined €25,000 by UEFA for Nazi salutes and racist gestures from fans in April 2024
In their statement to the press, UEFA stated that Barcelona have been charged with “racism and/or other discriminatory conduct,” which is going to apply for the November 6 against Crvena Zvezda in the Champions League. They further wrote, “The Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) has decided to order the enforcement of the suspended disciplinary measure imposed by the UEFA Appeals Body in its decision on 17 April 2024 for the racist behaviour of its supporters, i.e. to ban FC Barcelona from selling tickets to its away supporters for the next UEFA competition match in accordance with Article 26(3) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations.”
Notably, on April 17 earlier this year, Barcelona were fined €25,000 by UEFA for Nazi salutes and racist gestures from their fans during the Champions League quarter-final match against Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes. With the continuation of similar behaviour earlier this month, UEFA decided to order the enforcement of the suspended disciplinary measure against Barcelona from five months ago.
