October 18 – Atletico Madrid say they will not sell tickets to season ticket holders for their next five away matches, a measure the club has taken on top of recent sanctions imposed by UEFA and the Spanish FA (RFEF).
Last week, Atletico were hit with a partial stadium closure for three matches and handed a fine of $50,000 after crowd trouble halted the derby against city rivals, Real Madrid, for almost 20 minutes.
The referee suspended play after objects were thrown at Real goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, from the lower stand at the Metropolitano Stadium. The RFEF has now ordered the partial closure of the lower South end of the stadium where the fans who caused the trouble were located. The RFEF described the events as “absolutely unacceptable”.
Atletico were also fined €30,000 that came with a suspended ban of selling tickets to their away fans for a UEFA competition match after the fans showed “racist discriminatory” behaviour in the side’s 4-0 defeat against Benfica in the Champions League.
In a statement, Atletico expressed concern about the damage to the club’s image, emphasising the exemplary behaviour of the majority of their supporters.
“The damage caused to the image of Atletico and its fans, the vast majority of whom have behaved in an exemplary manner, is difficult to repair,” Atletico said in a statement.
“The seriousness of the matter and the responsibility to look after the image of our club has forced the club to take this measure while all those involved in such incidents are identified.”
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