It is not often that a club will greet a €195,000 fine and a four-match stadium ban with relief, but that was undoubtedly Inter Milan's situation last night after a Uefa disciplinary body had ruled on the crowd violence which forced German referee Markus Merk to abandon last Tuesday night's Champions League quarter-final, return leg tie with city rivals AC Milan.
Inter Milan were losing 4-0 on aggregate halfway through the second half when referee Merk disallowed an Inter goal scored by Argentine midfielder Esteban Cambiasso.
That decision prompted a furious reaction from Inter fans behind the AC Milan goal, with hundreds of objects, including flares, cigarette lighters, coins, umbrellas, keys and much else beside, being thrown onto the pitch. AC Milan goalkeeper Brazilian Dida was hit by one of the flares and was not able to take any further part in the game.
Given that a Uefa Cup tie between Inter and Spanish side Alaves in 2001 had been interrupted by a similar explosion of violence, many commentators had feared that Inter might have been banned from next season's Champions League.
In the end, given the gravity of the events at the San Siro on Tuesday, many will feel that Inter have got off lightly with a ruling that forces them to play their first four Champions League ties next season behind closed doors.
"There will be some people who think that it (the sentence) is lenient and others who think that it is harsh," commented Uefa spokesman William Gaillard last night, adding: "This is the highest fine in the history of Uefa and the loss of four home games will mean that they lose out on revenue for around 8 million. You have to put it in the context of the game. There were no further injuries apart from a very slight one to the goalkeeper which we absolutely regret."
Inter, who have three days in which to appeal the ruling, will also be subject to a further three-year "probationary" period. If, in the next three years, there are other violent incidents at the San Siro, then the club will be forced to play a further two matches behind closed doors.
The violence at the San Siro came just two days after crowd problems at a number of Italian league games last Sunday, including Lazio v Livorno and Udinese v Roma in Serie A.
Eighty-four policemen were injured and 17 fans arrested as a result of those incidents which prompted Italian interior minister Giuseppe Pisanu to threaten to close stadiums that are regularly the scene of violence.
From tomorrow, local police chiefs in Italy will have the right to call off any match marred by violent incidents or racist behaviour before or during the game.
By way of reaction to the week's events, the Italian Football Federation has issued a similar instruction to its referees, calling on them to abandon any game marred by violence or racism.
Given that tomorrow's programme contains at least two Serie A games at risk of violence, the relegation battle-cum-derby between Brescia and Atalanta, and the Tuscan derby between Livorno and Fiorentina, then both referees and police chiefs may immediately have an opportunity to follow their new instructions.
