Birkirkara have been fined €15,000 by UEFA after some of their fans directed racial abuse at KS Vllaznia player Abraham Alechenwu during the first leg of their Europa League first qualifying round match at the Hibernians Stadium on June 30.
UEFA’s zero-tolerance stance on racial abuse meant that European football governing body’s Control and Disciplinary Board, chaired by Austrian Thomas Partl, was never going to treat the incident lightly after it had been mentioned in the officials’ match report.
The incident took place late in the second half when some Birkirkara fans aimed monkey noises towards Alechenwu after the Nigerian failed to move backwards when the home side were awarded a free-kick.
Vllaznia beat Birkirkara 1-0 in the first leg and advanced 2-1 on aggregate after the match in Albania ended one-all.
Although the alleged derogatory chanting only lasted a few seconds, it was enough to land Birkirkara in hot water with UEFA who recently informed the club that they had been fined €15,000 over the incident.
“We vigorously condemn the behaviour of a handful of irres-ponsible people who directed racist chants at a Vllaznia player in the first leg of the Europa League qualifying round tie,” Birkirkara official John Borg told The Times.
“Their actions have resulted in a hefty fine of €15,000 for Birkirkara FC. There is no place for racists in football as well as at our club and UEFA have a zero-tolerance policy on racial and dis-criminatory behaviour.
“The fine is a financial blow for our club. I hope local supporters will learn from this because if clubs continue to be penalised for improper behaviour by fans, we would have to consider playing European games behind closed doors.”
The financial aspect aside, Borg also bemoaned the fact that this incident has tarnished Birkirkara’s erstwhile clean record on racist-related offences.
“This is the first time that Birkirkara have been punished by UEFA for racial abuse by the fans,” Borg said.
“It was an isolated incident but enough to blot the club’s copy-book as UEFA keep record of these offences.”
Birkirkara are not expected to appeal UEFA’s decision.
Meanwhile, Malta champions Valletta were also fined €3,000 by UEFA after plastic water bottles were hurled onto the pitch at the end of their 3-2 defeat to Lithuania’s FK Ekranas in the first leg of the Champions Lea-gue second qualifying round match.
The game was played at the Hibs Stadium last month.