April 9 – UEFA have awarded Russia a 3-0 walkover win over Montenegro following the abandonment of their Euro 2016 qualifier that saw Russian keeper Igor Akinfeev felled soon after kickoff when struck on the head by a flare.
Montenegro have also been ordered to play their next two matches behind closed doors, with the second one suspended for a year, whilst their federation has been fined €50,000.
The Russian federation, meanwhile, was also handed a €25,000 sanction for improper conduct by supporters but UEFA opted not to activate sanctions that were deferred after disorder by Russian fans at Euro 2012.
Akinfeev was struck in the first minute of last month’s vital Group G clash in Podgorica that was pivotal to both teams’ chances of qualification and was taken off on a stretcher and substituted.
After a 35-minute delay during which calls were apparently made to UEFA president Michael Platini and general secretary Gianni infantino, the German referee restarted the match.
But there was more trouble in the stands at half time leading to a further 18-minute delay and the game was finally called off in the second half at 0-0 following a brawl involving players and coaching staff when another Russian player, Dmitry Kombarov, was struck by an object thrown from the stands soon after Roman Shirokov’s 66th-minute penalty had been saved.
The incident came just days after Platini used his address to the UEFA Congress in Vienna to highlight the need for fan violence to be halted in its tracks to avoid a return to the dark days of hooliganism.
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