Petitioners for an Austria-free tournament get fined

Petitioners who urged the Austrian national team to withdraw from the European Championships after a number of poor performances have been fined for misuse of the national coat of arms, an organiser said.

Michael Kriess, the son of former Austrian international Werner and a coordinator of the campaign which attracted 10,000 signatures, said a court had fined him €1,500 for the damage done to Austria’s reputation and standing.

But Mr Kriess said he would challenge the fine in court in June.

He isn’t worried about the national team embarrassing itself. In fact, he’s expecting it, he said.

And according to petitioners, fans fell into a dismal state of depression during a nine-match winless run and wished to hand their place to the next best team who failed to pass through to the tournament.

Meanwhile, the black eagle with the golden crown continues to appear on the online petition’s website with a football obscuring its head.