The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has ruled that Norwegian club Brann will not have to pay a €5,000 ($5,480) fine for fans chanting “UEFA Mafia” and displaying banners with the same message at a Women’s Champions League match.
UEFA, European football’s governing body, issued the fine to Brann for “provocative messages of an offensive nature” during a match against St. Polten in January 2024, and rejected an appeal from the club in March last year.
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Brann subsequently lodged an appeal to CAS, who confirmed the ruling in a statement issued to The Athletic on Monday, which read: “The CAS Panel ruled by majority that, in view of the facts of this case, there was no breach of the UEFA regulations by the club and that the €5,000 fine issued by UEFA is annulled.
“As a consequence, the panel did not need to examine one of SK Brann’s argument as to whether the disciplinary sanction was a justifiable incursion on the supporters’ right of freedom of expression. Unless parties request confidentiality, a full award with grounds will be made available on the CAS website in due course.”
UEFA, meanwhile, said in a statement on Sunday the fine was set aside “only because of the truly extraordinary circumstances of the case and the thin evidentiary basis available.”
European football’s governing body added they would continue to apply their policy of “zero tolerance against inappropriate behaviour” so that matches under their jurisdiction would be free from “violent, racist or offensive behaviours that are not fit for a sports event”.
Brann chairman Aslak Sverdrup said in a statement the verdict made by CAS was “important and correct” during a time in which he said “freedom of expression is under pressure.”
Brann said UEFA had been ordered to pay the club’s legal costs, saying that cases around its usage must be taken “in light of the context”.
Jan Magne Isaksen, an attorney who represented Brann in the case, was quoted in the club’s statement as saying the CAS verdict “gives hope for an even better football future, with more openness and more democracy.”
A “UEFA Mafia” slogan was displayed by Borussia Dortmund fans against Celtic in October, in protest against Champions League reforms. Dortmund supporters had previously displayed such banners against Newcastle United in the Champions League, while Marseille were fined for the same wording in the Conference League in 2022.
(FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)
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