By Andrew Warshaw
December 24 – In a highly unusual move, UEFA have decided to appeal against the sanctions of its own control and disciplinary body imposed on Serbia following the explosive Euro 2013 under-21 play-off match against England in October.
UEFA boss Michel Platini has already said he was not satisfied with the leniency shown towards Serbia who were ordered to play one home match behind closed doors and had a number of players suspended for between two and four games but were only fined 80,000 Euros for the racist behaviour of their supporters.
The UEFA panel also hit England players Steven Caulker and Tom Ince with suspensions following the mass brawl that followed the final whistle in Krusevac.
“As per the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations, the UEFA disciplinary inspector has the right to open disciplinary investigations and to lodge appeals against decisions taken by the Control and Disciplinary Body,” said a UEFA statement.
“Having reviewed the motivated decisions for the sanctions imposed in this specific case, which have also been provided to all parties, the UEFA disciplinary inspector felt it necessary to immediately confirm his intention to appeal on UEFA’s behalf.”
The appeal will be lodged by Jan 8 – the same deadline for the FA to submit an appeal of its own over the Ince and
Caulker suspensions. Platini has received a number of complaints from English officials about the verdicts and clearly believes that a greater punishment is necessary against the Serbs in order to send out the right message.
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