Legia Warsaw to play Real Madrid in an empty stadium following racist chants from fans

Real Madrid may have to play Legia Warsaw behind closed doors due to Legia’s supporters actions during a 6-0 drubbing by Borussia Dortmund. They were charged by UEFA’s Ethics and Disciplinary Body with crowd disturbances and racist behavior as well as four other cases.

Today, UEFA announced that it has ordered a full stadium closure for Legia’s home match against Real Madrid on November 2nd, and they have also hit the Polish side with a €80,000 fine. Borussia Dortmund were fined €15,000 after the match as well.

Here is a look at the findings from UEFA.

Charges against Legia Warszawa:

Crowd disturbances - Art. 16 (2) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations (DR)

Setting off of fireworks - Art. 16 (2) DR

Throwing of objects - Art. 16 (2) DR

Insufficient organization - Art. 16 (1) DR

Racist behavior - Art. 14 DR

Stairways blocked - Art. 38 of UEFA Safety & Security Regulations

Decision:

- The UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary (CEDB) has ordered Legia Warszawa to play its next UEFA competition match as host club behind closed doors. The club has also been fined € 80,000. It was decided to close the proceedings regarding racist behavior.

Charges against Borussia Dortmund:

Setting off of fireworks - Art. 16 (2) DR

Throwing of objects - Art. 16 (2) DR

Decision:

- The UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary (CEDB) decided to fine Borussia Dortmund € 15’000.

As expected, Legia are going to appeal this decision, saying that they will do everything in their power to make sure the match is played in front of its supporters on November 2nd. Seweryn Dmowski, who is Legia’s advisor to the board, told ESPN FC that the club couldn’t guarantee that the (racist) chanting didn’t take place.

"We are not idiots, and we don't want to tell people you don't see what you see," he said. "There probably were some individuals who may have chanted this way. We want to identify all of them and ban them from the stadium."

- Seweryn Dmowski, Source

The club released a statement (in Polish) today telling supporters about the sanctions and that it could affect their match at home against Los Blancos.

Legia has been in the UEFA doghouse before after being told they had to play two European matches in empty stadiums for racism their fans displayed in 2014 in a Europa League match. The fans also used a "Jihad Legia" banner before their Europa League match against Hapoel Tel Aviv in 2011, which also landed them in hot water.