Feyenoord thrown out of UEFA Cup
NYON, Switzerland (AP) - Feyenoord was expelled from the UEFA Cup on Friday over crowd disturbances.
Round of 32, Leg 1
Wed., Feb. 14
Leverkusen vs. Blackburn
Hap. Tel Aviv vs. Rangers
Livorno vs. Espanyol
Fenerbahce vs. Alkmaar
Werder Bremen vs. Ajax
CSKA vs. Maccabi Haifa
AEK Athens vs. PSG
Benfica vs. Dinamo Buch.
Shakhtar vs. Nancy
Bordeaux vs. Osasuna
Thu., Feb. 15
Zulte W. vs. Newcastle
Braga vs. Parma
Lens vs. Panathinaikos
Steaua vs. Sevilla
TBA vs. Tottenham *
Spartak vs. Celta Vigo
*Feyenoord booted by UEFA 1/19/07 for crowd trouble.
The Dutch side was set to meet Tottenham Hotspur in the round of 32 of Europe's second-tier club competition.
UEFA will meet Monday to decide whether the English club will have to play another opponent instead.
Feyenoord fans fought and smashed windows at Nancy before ripping out and throwing seats during a 3-0 loss on Nov. 30.
Police lobbed tear gas in Marcel-Picot Stadium, forcing the referee to stop the match in the 80th minute because it was affecting the players. The players returned to the field about 20 minutes later and completed the match.
"In every respect, this is a serious blow for our club and for everybody who has a soft spot for Feyenoord," director Onno Jacobs said. "In this situation there are only losers.
"This punishment has enormous implications for our club. Financially as well as on the sporting front, Feyenoord suffers a lot of damage. Our real supporters are the victims of the behavior of a few people that Feyenoord wants nothing to do with."
The UEFA appeals body said it "has considerably toughened the sanction" against Feyenoord after its meeting Friday. However, it halved a fine UEFA had previously imposed on the Dutch side to 100,000 Swiss francs (US$80,000; €62,000).
"The supporters will miss what was promising to be two superb matches against Spurs. Perhaps more," Feyenoord director Chris Woerts told The AP. "Just like we noted in our New year speech, we hope our supporters will do everything possible to correct their behavior."
Feyenoord, fourth in the Dutch standings and 14 points behind leader PSV Eindhoven, plays eighth-place NAC Breda on Sunday.
The club said it would consider appealing the ban to world sport's highest tribunal, the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.
"This punishment has enormous implications for our club. Financially as well as on the sporting front, Feyenoord suffers a lot of damage," Jacobs said. "Our real supporters are the victims of the behavior of a few people that Feyenoord wants nothing to do with."
