UEFA punishes Serbia after fans’ racist behaviour
The Serbian Football Association is fined €50,000 and must play a Nations League match behind closed doors.
.JPG){kind=link}
UEFA has punished the Serbian Football Association for racist and discriminatory behaviour by supporters during matches against Greece and the Netherlands. Serbia has been fined €50,000, among other sanctions, and must play a home match without spectators, although children and away supporters may still attend.
The punishment follows a combined disciplinary case concerning two matches: Serbia against Greece on 24 September and Serbia against the Netherlands on 27 September. The Serbian Football Association said so in a statement on the decision by UEFA’s disciplinary and ethics committee.
In addition to the fine for racist and discriminatory behaviour, the association received a further fine of €22,500 for displaying inappropriate messages, according to the same statement. There were also fines of €2,000 for pyrotechnics and €15,000 for entering the pitch.
The sanction applies to Serbia’s home match against Germany on 13 November. The stands will largely remain empty. UEFA is allowing children and around 2,000 German supporters to attend. The Serbian association says the precise arrangements and conditions will be announced later.
The punishment is aimed at the national football association and supporter behaviour; the sources consulted report no sanction against Netherlands players. Nor has it been reported that the result or sporting course of the matches will be changed.
UEFA uses stadium restrictions, fines and conditions on attendance as part of its disciplinary policy against discrimination. The measure also shows how difficult implementation can be: a completely empty stadium is prohibited, but children and visiting fans are allowed access.
For Oranje, the ruling is mainly relevant as a signal about the circumstances surrounding future away matches in Serbia. For the Serbian association, the sanction means financial damage and additional organisational responsibility. On the basis of this decision, it cannot be established whether the punishment will permanently change supporters’ behaviour.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The sanctions imposed, amounts and match dates appear in the Serbian association’s public statement. The text adds no unsupported details about the content of the chants or other incidents.
- confirmed UEFA has punished the Serbian Football Association for racist and discriminatory behaviour by supporters. — Mentioned in the Serbian Football Association’s statement and in UEFA’s disciplinary database. source
- confirmed The fine for racist behaviour is €50,000. — Made public by the Serbian association. source
- confirmed The home match against Germany will be played with restricted attendance. — The association refers to a match without spectators, with exceptions for children and away supporters. source
- confirmed There were additional fines for inappropriate messages, pyrotechnics and entering the pitch. — Specified in the Serbian Football Association’s public statement. source
Editor's note
The sanctions and amounts were taken from the Serbian Football Association’s public statement and checked against the UEFA disciplinary page. The sources provide no additional details about the precise behaviour of the supporters.Sources
- Srbija protiv Nemačke uz prisustvo dece na tribinama — Voetbalbond Servië
- Disciplinary matters — UEFA
- European Football United Against Racism Resolution — UEFA
More on this in Dutch media
- NRC — „uefa servië”
- NU.nl — „uefa servië”
- De Telegraaf — „uefa servië”