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UEFA lands harsh penalty on Croatian Football Federation

Xinhua, July 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

Croatia will play two matches behind closed doors and have one point deducted in EURO 2016 qualifying tournament, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) decided at a meeting in Nyon, Switzerland, on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) will pay 100.000 euros fine.

It is the harshest penalty in HNS history but still not as harsh as it could be, since HNS has a long history of bad behavior of its fans.

The worst possible penalty that UEFA CEBD could impose on HNS was kicking out the Croatian national team from EURO 2016 qualifiers and some of the highly positioned members of HNS were afraid of that scenario.

So, even though there is a possibility of an appeal, it is highly unlikely that HNS will take any further steps in this matter. If they will try to reduce the penalty, an appeal must be made within three days of the dispatch of the reasoned decision.

The HNS was facing charges for racist behavior at European qualifiers Group H match against Italy in Split on June 12, that ended a 1-1 draw. That match was already played behind closed doors as HNS was serving a one-match ban for racist behavior of its supporters.

During the match, the officials spotted swastika, infamous Nazi symbol from World War Two, engraved into the pitch of Poljud Stadium. The Croatian police is still trying to find those who are responsible for that violent act that ruined the reputation of the whole nation.

Poljud Stadium was also included in the decision of CEDB as HNS will not be able to play remaining qualifying match against Bulgaria there on October 10, as it was scheduled.

Even with one point being deducted, Croatia will still remain the leader of Group H of EURO 2016 qualifiers with the total of 13 points.

Italy will now be one point behind in 2nd place, Norway third with 9 points, Bulgaria fourth with 5, Azerbaijan fifth with 3 and Malta sixth with one point.

The best two teams from each group will earn direct qualification for the EURO 2016 Final Tournament that will be held in France. Endi