Cologne fined €60,000 by UEFA after Arsenal Europa League trouble

James Olley30 October 2017

Cologne were today fined 60,000 euros by UEFA and ordered to pay Arsenal compensation for the damage their supporters caused prior to September’s Europa League match at Emirates Stadium.

Kick-off was delayed by an hour as more than 15,000 Cologne fans descended on north London with some trying to force their way into the ground without tickets.

Cologne were only given an allocation of 3,000 tickets but thousands more gained entry after buying from tickets touts, rendering segregation measures unenforceable inside the stadium, prompting manager Arsene Wenger to later express his surprise the game was allowed to go ahead.

UEFA concluded a lengthy investigation today by upholding four charges – crowd disturbances, setting off fireworks, throwing objects and acts of damage – and in addition to the fine, the Bundesliga club must contact Arsenal within 30 days “for the settlement of the damages cause by its supporters”.

In Pictures | Arsenal vs Cologne | 14/09/17

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A ban preventing Cologne selling tickets for their next UEFA sanctioned away game has been deferred for a probationary period of two years.

The Gunners were not fined by UEFA but have also held an internal review of their ticketing methods – including possible revisions of their ‘Friends and Family’ scheme, which enables a single member to buy multiple tickets for certain matches – ahead of their first European home game since the Cologne debacle.

Red Star Belgrade visit on Thursday but Standard Sport understands Arsenal do not consider the match to pose any significant issues, despite the Serbian side being given the same 3,000 allocation as Cologne.

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