UEFA has announced it will launch an investigation after more than the allocated 200 Red Star Belgrade fans made their way into Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday after a ticket ban for the Serbian side.
The governing body banned Belgrade fans from buying tickets as a punishment for racist abuse among their fans and said its disciplinary panel found the charge proven against the Serbian champions in a qualifying game against HJK Helsinki in Finland in July. The club was also fined €50,000 (£44,500/$55,600).
Red Star had been allocated just 200 tickets for the game at the 62,062-capacity stadium, and should have taken up seats in the hospitality areas of the ground rather than the usual away end. However, a group of more than 200 additional away supporters were able to enter the ground, leaving police and stewards to contain them as the crowd was too large to eject.
Tottenham opted not to put tickets on general sale to avoid Red Star fans from buying tickets, which could help the club avoid sanctions from the governing body as they are responsible for ticketing and segregation.
Tottenham said it has launched its own investigation into the issue.
A club spokesperson said: “Red Star supporters illegally obtained individual tickets on Level 5 and made their way around to one section of the stadium in order to congregate as a group. Stewards and police contained the group as it was too large a number to eject.
“We have launched a full investigation in order to understand how tickets have been acquired. We shall take the strongest possible action against any individual found to have sold their ticket on.”
Image: Hzh
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