UEFA boss Ceferin done with misbehavior of players and fans: ‘It has become unbearable’
NOS Football–
The increasing misbehavior of fans and players on and around the soccer field is also frustrating the top boss of European soccer. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin calls for harsher penalties and endorses the criticism of Marco van Basten, who recently expressed his dissatisfaction with the increasing game misconduct in an open letter to FIFA.
“We have to be stricter. It has become unbearable. There is constant pressure, every referee’s decision is debated. It has gone too far,” the 55-year-old Ceferin responded.
In recent times, several matches were marred by misconduct, including the Europa League final between AS Roma and Sevilla. Stalling for time, falling over without contact and mass protests to the referee, it is the rule rather than the exception.
Watch here how Ceferin reacts to the problems on and around the pitch and to Marco van Basten’s open letter:
Ceferin on misbehavior of players: ‘We must take stricter action’
After the Europa League final, referee Anthony Taylor was even besieged at the airport by angry AS Roma fans. The Italian club lost the final and coach José Mourinho made it clear during and after the match in words and gestures that he disagreed with some of the decisions. “Crazy,” Van Basten called it.
The 55-year-old Ceferin, UEFA president since 2016, understands Van Basten and wants to take action.
“We have to punish the bullying of the referee. We haven’t had time for that yet because we had a lot of finals. After the season we will talk about it and I expect proposals from the refereeing committee,” he stated.
Then there is the unrest around the field. In the Netherlands, in the final phase of the premier league, many matches were stopped because of thrown objects on the field.
This rule was created after the incident involving Davy Klaassen in the semi-final of the KNVB Cup tournament against Feyenoord. He received a lighter on his head from the crowd.
A player was also hit with an object from the crowd during the Conference League final between West Ham United and Fiorentina. This was Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi, who suffered a bleeding head injury at the hands of a London supporter.
Terrible
“It’s terrible. All we can do is punish afterwards,” Ceferin stated. “But it is not easy to prevent, because they are small objects that are difficult to control. The punishments have to be severe.”
Whether Ceferin would like to extend the new Dutch line to European tournaments? “Perhaps we should start thinking about that,” he says diplomatically. He does not want to make a substantive judgment about it.
An analysis of more than 700 imposed fines handed out in European tournaments over the past two seasons shows that the Netherlands does not fare so well. Most of the cases involve penalties for setting off fireworks or throwing objects:
Overview of UEFA penalties in the past two seasons
| By country | Euro | Per club | Euro |
| 1. France | 1.753.000 | 1. Feyenoord | 800.625 |
| 2. Netherlands | 1.526.500 | 2. Olympique Marseille | 506.375 |
| 3. Germany | 1.479.000 | 3. Eintracht Frankfurt | 475.000 |
Last month Michael van Praag, former president of the KNVB and 2016 challenger to Ceferin, concluded that “the Netherlands is looking less and less good in Europe.
Ceferin underlines that. After seeing images of the violence during PSV-Sevilla and AZ-West Ham United, among others, he let it be known, “Michael is absolutely right. This does not look good.”
“All countries with these problems look bad in Europe,” said the Slovenian, who expects UEFA’s disciplinary committee to punish harshly – and as far as he is concerned, increasingly harshly.
PSV supporter storms the pitch and attacks goalkeeper Sevilla
Possible penalties for AZ and West Ham United are not yet known. PSV had to pay a total of 29,375 euros for a fan throwing objects and hitting an opponent. UEFA also demanded a partial closure of the stadium at the next European home game.
Ceferin: “We have to be strict, but also talk to the fans. It is too simple to say that all fans are negative. It is a small group of idiots who abuse the match for their misbehavior.”
‘Vulgar, primitive types’
He continued: “Supporters’ organizations tell us that there is a minority who don’t care about anything: vulgar, primitive and aggressive types.”
Looking ahead to next season, does Ceferin have a message for this group of fans?
“I don’t know if my message will help, but I hope and advise them to behave less violently. To just enjoy soccer.”
The interview with UEFA boss Aleksander Ceferin also covered a number of other current issues, including the full playing calendar, addressing mega salaries and the departure of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema from Europe:
Ceferin critical of soccer in Saudi Arabia: ‘It’s not just about money’
