Borussia Dortmund fans used the club’s recent Champions League fixture against Celtic to protest against UEFA’s recent changes to the tournament – but the German club are now likely to face sanctions from the governing body. The biggest club competition in world football underwent widespread changes to its format this season.
The group stage was scrapped in favour of a league table consisting of every team taking part in the tournament. First, the number of teams competing was expanded from 32 to 36. Clubs will play eight games in the league. Based on UEFA’s co-efficient system, those taking part are split into four pots and every club will face two teams from each pot.
The number of games played in the Champions League has risen from 125 to 189 but the changes haven’t been warmly welcomed by every set of fans – including Borussia Dortmund’s.
Dortmund Fans Displayed the Words ‘UEFA Mafia’
They also accused the governing body of only caring about money
Dortmund fans are no strangers to protesting. Just last season, they were spotted throwing fake money, gold bars and tennis balls onto the pitch during their Champions League match against Newcastle United. This was also to speak out against European football’s governing body. This time, they displayed a huge tifo that read ‘UEFA MAFIA’, while below that, they had a separate banner that read: “You don’t care about the sport – all you care about is money
There was also a third banner promoting the website ‘Reclaim the Game’ – a blog that had been set up to detail supporter criticism for the new Champions League format. It was an emphatic statement from the Dortmund supporters, but according to The Athletic, the club now face potential sanctions for their actions.
UEFA May Punish Dortmund
They’ve sanctioned teams for similar actions in the past
While the match itself was a huge success for Dortmund, with the German side annihilating Celtic 7-1 – as a hat-trick from Karim Adeyemi, a brace from Serhou Guirassy and further goals from Emre Can and Felix Nmecha secured the win – there’s a chance the club could be punished for their supporters’ actions in the stands.
In the past, UEFA have fined teams for the use of the word ‘mafia’ in their displays and banners, accusing the word of being a ‘provocative and offensive message’. Marseille have been issued a €20,000 for displaying a similar ‘UEFA Mafia’ banner during a Europa League match against Qarabag in March 2022.
As always, the UEFA protocol means the governing body won’t be able to act on the situation until they receive the official report from the game. It seems almost certain that Dortmund will face some form of punishment for the displays that were showcased during the match against Celtic, though.
