Real Madrid Punished By UEFA For Racist Behavior Of Fans With Partial Stadium Closure

UEFA is not too pleased with their recent Champion League winner’s fans. Real Madrid was punished on Friday for the racist behavior of its fans during the Bayern Munich semifinal game. The team must close down two sections of Santiago Bernabeu stadium, including sectors 120 and 122, for their first home match of the Champions League group stage next season. "Real Madrid are obliged to display a banner with the wording 'No to Racism' in those sectors," UEFA said via Associated Press.

Real Madrid beat Bayern Munich 4-1 in extra time to win their 10th European title last weekend. The racist offenses were cited from Real Madrid’s 1-0 win over Bayern Munich on April 1, but UEFA report did not specify the details of those offenses. UEFA urged its member federations in a statement to take racial abuse more seriously.

This incident is only one of many racial abuse reports in Spain from the past several months. Two other cases involved Atlético Madrid. The team was fined $13,600 for incidents at a Youth League game against Manchester City. Atlético Madrid also received the punishment to have its stadium partially closed for its next home game. In one of the worst case, Atlético Madrid fans made loud monkey noises at Senegalese player Papakouli “Pape” Diop during a league match. Brazilian defender Dani Alves also became the target of a racist taunt when a banana was thrown at him last month at Villarreal.

UEFA’s Control and Disciplinary Body expressed the seriousness of racism offenses in an open statement. “The fight against racism is a high priority for UEFA. European football's governing body has a zero-tolerance policy towards racism and discrimination, both on the pitch and in the stands. All forms of racist behaviour are considered serious offences against the disciplinary regulations and are severely punished. Following the entry into force of the new disciplinary regulations on 1 June 2013, the fight against racist conduct has been stepped up -- resulting in tougher sanctions to deter any such behaviour.”