What the Russian Football Union was fined for

Russian national team played only three games at the 2012 European Football Championship, so the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) fined The Russian Football Union (RFU) only three times. The reason for each of the fines was the behavior of fans of our national team during the matches. It first happened on the opening day of Euro 2012, at the meeting of the Russian national team with the Czech Republic. In the official wording, apart from the “inappropriate behaviour” of our fans, the manifestations of racism against the dark-skinned defender of rivals Theodore Gebre Selassie. In monetary terms, such conduct was estimated by the disciplinary committee at 30,000 euros.

After the next game against the Polish national team, UEFA initiated a new disciplinary case against the Russian Football Union. It examined sanctions for the use of pyrotechnics by fans, the throwing of lights on the pitch, the running of one of the fans on the football field and the use of banners, the contents of which organizers found reprehensible. All this in the amount of the disciplinary unit UEFA estimated at 120 thousand euros.

The final game with the Greeks cost the RFU cheaper – the penalty for the pyrotechnic show and obscene banners amounted to 35,000 euros this time.

Sanctions against the Russian Football Union over fan behaviour at Euro 2012 were not limited to fines. In addition, our national team is subject to a suspended penalty, which in case of repeated incidents may lead to the removal of six points from the team in the qualifying tournament of the next cycle of the European Championship.

In the “individual” audience from Russia also in prominent roles – apart from hundreds of detentions for hooligan manifestations at the matches of the national team, the “Russian trail” showed even at the game Croatia -$ Spain. The man who shot a lit fire from the top tier of the stadium and treated them to the Croatian fans sector, also turned out to be our compatriot.