UEFA’s Appeals Body just hit Derry City with a suspended partial closure of their Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, and man, is it a mess. This whole thing blew up after crazy trouble flared between rival supporters, both before and during their Europa League match against CSKA Sofia on Thursday, July 16, forcing police to get deployed at the stadium.
The Europa League Match That Stopped Dead
Derry City’s side, led by Tiernan Lynch, unfortunately lost the game 2-1 to CSKA Sofia, which knocked them right out of the competition. But that’s not even the wildest part. The actual contest got *halted for a full 14 minutes* because fans, and get this, even young children, had to flee onto the pitch! They were trying to get away from confrontations happening right there in the stands. Imagine being at a game and having to run for safety like that. It’s a rough scene and exactly why UEFA had to step in.
UEFA’s Hammer Falls: Fines and Bans for Both Sides
So, what’s the fallout? That partial stadium closure for Derry City is suspended for a probationary period of two years. On top of that, the Candystripes got slapped with a 20,000 euro (£17,000) fine for these incidents. CSKA Sofia didn’t get off easy either, not by a long shot. They’ve been banned from bringing away supporters to their next European fixture, with a similar one-game sanction suspended for two years. Plus, the Bulgarian side got hit with fines totaling a massive 55,000 euro (£47,000) and they’re on the hook for any damage their supporters caused to the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium. CSKA Sofia even apologized for the damage and agreed to cover the remediation costs.
Derry City’s statement confirmed they complained to UEFA about “the aggressive and intimidatory behaviour” of the visiting supporters. But they also “fully accepted” their own punishment. The club is actively investigating to identify their own fans who were involved, and they’re talking about serious “appropriate steps,” possibly even lifetime bans from the McBride Stadium.
Derry City is back in European action Thursday night at 19:45 BST when they travel to face Croatian side HNK Rijeka in the second qualifying round of the Conference League. Talk about playing under a cloud. You know they’ll want to put this off-field drama behind them and focus on the game.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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