By Mark Baber
January 21 – Ajax fans displayed banners, including an ‘Against Modern Football” banner with a cartoon of a sheikh handing over a bag of money with a dollar sign on it, on a light blue background with a red line through it, during a Champions League match in October against Manchester City.
UEFA have fined Ajax €10,000 for their protest against the influence of the super-rich in football.
The offending banner was displayed, along with other banners which included “€80 for an away ticket is ridiculous” and an offensive message aimed at Manchester City, Chelsea, Red Bull Salzburg and Red Bull Leipzig.
Since September 2008, City have been owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group, an investment company of Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
UEFA’s official stance was that the Dutch club was fined for “display of a provocative and inappropriate banner” but the fine.
The ban has raised some free speech concerns as well as, ironically, raising the awareness of the arguments of those who complain about “modern football” and the influence of money in the game.
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