OFFICIAL! UEFA fines FC Barcelona for the ultra banner with the message "Flick Heil" in Monaco

The FC Barcelona has been sanctioned by UEFA, why? The Ethics and Discipline Control Committee of the European football governing body has taken measures regarding the black banner that was displayed in a section of the stands at the Estadio Luis II during the match against AS Monaco (2-1), attributed to the Barça supporters. The banner displayed the message "Flick Heil", which translates to "Hail Flick".

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— Jordi Borràs (@jordiborras) September 20, 2024

Why has this been sanctioned by UEFA? The explanation lies in the fact that this slogan bears a strong resemblance to the salute used during the time of the Nazi Germany in praise of Adolf Hitler, known as "Heil Hitler". Following this regrettable incident, the organization presided over by Aleksander Čeferin announced on Friday the decision of its disciplinary committee, which chose to enforce the sanction that the club had suspended during a one-year probation period since April 17, due to racist behavior of its fans, lighting of flares, and damages caused by its supporters at the Paris Saint-Germain's stadium. This situation had previously warranted a €32,000 fine.

The sanction that FC Barcelona will have to face for this incident

At this point, the penalty imposed on FC Barcelona takes two forms. Firstly, in financial terms, the Blaugrana team will have to pay an approximate fine of €10,000. Secondly, the Catalan side will not be able to sell tickets to its supporters for the next away match in the Champions League, scheduled for November 6, when in the fourth matchday, Barça travels to Serbia to face Red Star Belgrade. This means that the Barcelona team will not have the support of its fans in this game.

Additionally, this sanction, in accordance with Article 26(3) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations, comes with an additional prohibition that "is suspended for a one-year probation period, starting from the date of this edition". What does this mean? In case incidents of this nature are repeated in the next 12 months, UEFA will automatically apply the same punishment as imposed on FC Barcelona this time.

Barça's response to the measure imposed by UEFA after this unfortunate incident

In response to this announcement, Barça issued a statement through its various social media channels. In this declaration, in addition to announcing that they will comply with the measure imposed by UEFA and will refund those who have already purchased their tickets for this match, the club wanted to be clear in condemning such acts.

"FC Barcelona rejects any form of violence apology and, as outlined in Articles 3 and 4 of its Statutes, will ensure the protection and promotion of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights set out in the International Bill of Human Rights proclaimed by the United Nations".

Furthermore, FC Barcelona announced that they will take special measures to prevent such a situation from happening again. "In light of the behavior of the supporter groups and fans, both in matches played at home (whether at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys or the Johan Cruyff) and away trips to opposing fields which have resulted in repeated sanctions, both domestically and internationally, the Club will reinforce current measures and undertake additional actions as deemed appropriate to prevent these incidents from recurring in the future as well as to sanction those responsible," they concluded.

Comunicado del FC Barcelona

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— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) September 27, 2024