Real Madrid have been fined €30,000 (£24,750) by UEFA due to ‘discriminatory behaviour’ witnessed during their 3-1 win over Manchester City.
It is understood that the punishment relates to homophobic chants aimed at City manager Pep Guardiola by a group of fans at the Bernabeu during the second leg of Madrid’s 6-3 aggregate victory in the Champions League’s playoff round.
Guardiola is disliked by much of the Madrid fanbase due to his strong links to fierce rivals Barcelona. He played 382 games for Barca between 1990 and 2001, before returning to manage the Camp Nou club for four years from 2008 to 2012.
In addition to their fine, Madrid have been warned by European football’s governing body that further bad behaviour could result in a partial stadium ban.
UEFA will order at least 500 seats to be closed for a future European match if there is a repeat offence in the next two years.
A statement issued by UEFA on Friday explained that its appeals body (AB) was punishing Madrid for ‘discriminatory behaviour, Art. 14(2) DR’.
Real Madrid have been fined for ‘discriminatory behaviour’ following their win over Man City
City manager Pep Guardiola was targeted with homophobic chanting during the second leg
Madrid beat City 3-1, thanks to a hat-trick by Kylian Mbappe (left), to prevail 6-3 on aggregate
Discussing the suspended stadium ban, the statement said that the AB had decided ‘to order the partial closure of Real Madrid CF’s stadium (i.e. at least 500 adjacent seats) during the next match Real Madrid C.F. will play as host club, for the discriminatory behaviour of its supporters.
‘Said partial stadium closure is suspended for a probationary period of two (2) years, starting from the date of the present decision.
‘Note: Disciplinary measures under a probationary period are not immediately effective but may be enforced if “a further offence of a similar nature is committed during the probationary period” (Article 26(3) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations).’
After knocking Man City out of the Champions League for the second season running, Madrid will now face local rivals Atletico in the round of 16.
The winners of that tie will go on to meet PSV Eindhoven or Arsenal in the quarter-finals, with Liverpool, Aston Villa, Paris Saint-Germain or Club Brugge then awaiting in the semis.
