The result is that for one UEFA club competition match, Eintracht Frankfurt will not be allowed to sell entry tickets to their fans (an “away match ban”). Secondly, Eintracht Frankfurt will be required to have a partial closure in their stadium of at least 1,000 seats for their next match in UEFA club competition (a “partial ban”). Both of these punishments are suspended for a period of one year.
In addition, the club have been given a fine of 45,000 euros in total.
The suspended bans were specifically handed out for an incident involving racist behaviour, i.e. the so-called Nazi salute and other fascist gestures that were made by two people ahead of the match in the direction of the French fans.
As such, the ruling means that the forthcoming home game against Tottenham Hotspur and the away game against the same team in London can go ahead without any restrictions on fans.
“The ruling clearly takes into account not just the extraordinary conditions surrounding the match in question and the exceptional circumstances in the city and the stadium, but also our enormous organisational efforts and in particular the clear stand and communication that the club has made regarding the events,” said board member Philipp Reschke in an initial reaction by the club to the sanctions.
The decision-making capacity in this case was transferred in the middle of last week from the UEFA control, ethics and disciplinary body directly to the UEFA appeals court, which handed down their ruling on Friday evening.
