By Andrew Warshaw
August 10 – Russia have won their appeal against the threat of a six-point deduction in the case of crowd trouble in the next European Championship qualifying competition, according to the Russian Football Union (RFU).
The RFU said in a statement that the penalty, imposed because of a series of disturbances during Euro 2012, had been overturned.
“Today, UEFA’s Appeals Committee cancelled the previous decision by the Disciplinary Committee,” the RFU said on its website.
The sanctions were meted out after Russian fans threw fireworks and displayed illicit banners at their Euro 2012 Group A opener against the Czech Republic in Wroclaw on June 8.
UEFA ruled that Russia, whose fans were the centre of unwanted attention at the tournament in Poland and Ukraine, would be docked six points in qualifying for the next European Championship if they misbehaved again.
A €120,000 (£94,500/$147,400) fine, imposed at the same time, was upheld by the appeals committee, the RFU said.
Unusually, the statement was made by without any confirmation from UEFA who could not immediately be reached for comment to explain why the appeal had been successful.
The six-point deduction was originally imposed after Russian fans were seen attacking stewards, four of whom needed hospital treatment, during the 4-1 win over the Czech Republic in Wrocław.
Although the appeal was successful, UEFA has now ruled that because of other, separate instances of trouble involving Russian fans at the tournament, the country will have to play three of its Euro 2016 home qualifiers behind closed doors, potentially a far more worrying sanction given the desperate need to qualify for the finals in France after such a disappointing performance at Euro 2012.
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