A Spanish sporting government body has recommended Atletico Madrid’s stadium be closed for 15 days over the crowd trouble that marred last month’s La Liga meeting with Real Madrid.
Objects were thrown from the stands behind Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois’ goal in the second half of the 1-1 draw at the Estadio Metropolitano on September 29, leading to the referee suspending play for 17 minutes. The game then restarted after Atletico players and head coach Diego Simeone spoke with balaclava-wearing supporters.
The anti-violence commission of Spain’s Superior Sports Council (CSD) made the recommendation after its latest biweekly meeting in Madrid on Tuesday.
It will now be passed on to a department of Spain’s Ministry of the Interior to ratify the ruling.
Atletico have already been punished by the Spanish FA over what happened at their home match with city rivals Real Madrid. They were handed a three-match partial stadium closure as well as a fine of €45,000 (£37,500, $49,000).
They appealed this last week, arguing that “the unacceptable behaviour of a few cannot lead to such a disproportionate punishment of a large majority of fans who did not commit any offence”.
The complete stadium closure recommendation comes after police said they were working to identify as many as 20 fans who they believe took part in the incident.
(Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
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