NETHERLANDS: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - Feyenoord coach Erwin Koeman says dismissal from UEFA Cup because of crowd violence is disaster

UEFA threw Feyenoord out of the tournament on Friday (January 19) because crowd disturbances at a group stage match at AS Nancy in November. The Dutch side were due to host England's Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of the first knockout stage on February 15. During the trouble in France on November 30, tear gas was used to control rioting Feyenoord fans who spilled on to the pitch. The match was suspended for half an hour. UEFA's independent Control and Disciplinary Board fined Feyenoord 200,000 Swiss Francs (164,200 U.S. dollars), gave the club a suspended sentence and ordered them to play two matches in an empty stadium, but UEFA itself called for a harsher punishment and the organisation's chief prosecutor appealed against the initial decision. Feyenoord coach Erwin Koeman said during training on Saturday: "For us it is a disaster. We want to play...The club did everything to get the right people over there, but some people in Rotterdam, they buy tickets and they sell tickets and Feyenoord did not. But, further, it is very hard for us." Feyenoord have said they might go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to try to reverse the decision because they had warned UEFA and the French authorities about a group of people who travelled on their own authority, not under club auspices. A Liverpool fan watching the training, Darren Milton said it was always the supporters who caused problems, adding: "It's football, not war." UEFA said it would decide on Monday (January 22) whether Tottenham will get a bye or face Wisla Krakow, who finished fourth behind third-placed Feyenoord in their group in the round of 32; Wisla were the last club to be thrown out of European competition for crowd trouble, in 1998.

ITN Source | January 21, 2007

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