Season 08/09 - November

FC Spartak Moscow - FC Zenit Saint Petersburg- 22/11/2008

Source : Press

Russian riot police OMOH keep Zenit Saint Petersburg fans under control.

Germany : SG Dynamo Dresden - Fortuna Düsseldorf - 15/11/2008

Source : Bild.de

Paraguay : Cerro Porteno - Olimpia - 09/11/2008

Source : Press

Mexico : Pumas - Cruz Azul - 30/11/2008

Source : Press

Pumas' fans clash with anti-riot police officers.

Austria - Turkey - 19/11/2008

Source : Press

Celtic - Manchester United - 05/11/2008

Source : Press




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Source :

Celtic consider action against pitch invaders after being hit with UEFA fine

Celtic will investigate the possibility of legal action to recoup money from pitch invaders after being hit on Thursday with a £42,400 fine from UEFA.

The sanction was handed down by European football's governing body after a 19-year-old man interrupted last week's 1-1 Champions League draw with Manchester United by running 40 yards on to the playing surface before eventually being removed by police and stewards.

It followed an incident in last season's competition when Celtic were fined £25,000, with half suspended for two years, after a supporter ran on to mock AC Milan goalkeeper Dida.

Having now being hit with an increased punishment for this latest infringement, Sportsmail understands the Parkhead hierarchy are determined to study all options available to act as a deterrent against any costly future breach of security.

It is not clear what recourse is available to try to claw back fines, or portions of them, from offenders, but it's believed the club's legal team will be instructed to look closely at the issue.

Celtic will not appeal against the punishment for last week's incident, but senior figures are angry at the club being hit financially - and in terms of bad publicity - through the actions of rogue individuals.

UEFA confirmed the fine in a statement issued on Thursday evening, saying they had also taken into account a late kick-off time during the visit of Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

Panathinaïkos - Asteras Tripolis - 29/11/2008

Source : bleacherreport.com

Adrián Jesús Bastía Receives Red Card for Tripping a Pitch Invader

During Panathinaikos' 1-1 draw with Asteras Tripolis in the Greek Super League, referee Katsidonis gave a red card to Argentine midfielder Adrián Jesús Bastía for a rather strange offense.

Panathinaikos took an early lead in its own OAKA Spiros Louis stadium, but the guests fought back as a deflected corner fell to Bastía, who ruffled the back of the net with a powerful, turning volley that somehow made its way through a cluster of players.

Enraged by Panathinaikos’ poor performance, the home-fans started to run riot. One fan even managed to evade a police cordon and invaded the pitch. The referee delayed play so the riot police could apprehend the rogue supporter.

At this point, Bastía, the man who had earlier equalised, decided to be a good citizen and help the policemen, giving chase. When the supporter sprinted past him, the Argentine goal-scorer tripped the Greek fan, who was then easily arrested.

Much to his own and his teammates’ amazement, the Argentine was sent off by referee Katsidonis for “violent conduct.” The Argentine will no doubt take solace in the fact that minnows Asteras held title-candidate Panathinaikos to a draw in their own stadium thanks to his goal.

The question remains if this sending off was indeed an offense worthy of a red card.

To be fair, I do feel sorry for Bastía. A fan invades the pitch and delays your match, so you decide to help out by stopping this fan so the match can continue. Instead of a pat on the back and some compliments, you get a red card.

It seems awfully harsh to send a player off for such an action. If it had been aimed at another player on the pitch, okay, but this is just silly. I do feel that players should be allowed to help remove fans off the pitch, by all means necessary.

Basically, you're now sending off a player from the away team because the home side's fans are running riot and entering the pitch. Seems a bit odd, doesn't it?

Strictly following the rules, the ref was right. I quote rule 12.34 of the FIFA manual for referees:

"It is violent conduct when a player (or substitute) is guilty of aggression towards an opponent (when they are not contesting for the ball) or towards any other person (a teammate, the referee, an assistant referee, a spectator, etc.). The ball can be in or out of play. The aggression can occur either on or off the field of play."

When a fan invades the pitch, isn't that an act of aggression? He has no part to play in the match, so why enter the pitch? Why can't a player help the security people by tripping such a player, so the match can continue? It all seems terribly wrong to me.

PSG: Julien Quemener RIP... 2 years - 23/11/2008

Source: Le Parisien newspaper

Celtic pitch invader gets jail term and ban - 22/11/2008

Source : The Scotsman

A TEENAGE pitch invader who disrupted play during Celtic's Champions League match against Manchester United has been jailed for six months.
John Murphy, 18, was also banned from national and international football matches for five years, one of the longest such orders imposed in Scotland.

Play had to be stopped during the first half when Murphy, from Glasgow, went on to the pitch during the clash at Celtic Park on 5 November.

Murphy, a Celtic fan, admitted breaching the peace and being drunk in a sports ground when he appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court earlier this month.

Last Thursday, Celtic were fined £42,430 by Uefa for the invasion and for the late start to the game, which ended 1-1.

Sentencing Murphy yesterday, Sheriff Linda Ruxton branded his behaviour "dangerous and irresponsible".

She said: "You interrupted a high-profile match and created a situation which might easily have provoked serious public disorder.

"Furthermore, you brought Scottish football generally and Celtic Football Club in particular into disrepute and your behaviour caused the club to be fined a substantial amount."

Defence agent Eddie Robertson said his client had been given a ticket to the match by a friend and was not a Celtic season ticket holder.

He said Murphy had been drinking since about 11am on the day of the game and could not remember anything of the incident. He said his client had written to Celtic Football Club to apologise for his behaviour.