UEFA need to get their priorities right

UEFA are becoming a laughing stock in the football community.

At the European Championships they haven’t done themselves any favours by handing out ridiculous fines. The fines just haven’t fitted the offences committed.

Ridiculous

First I want to argue the case of Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner.

The striker was fined £80,000 and given a one match competitive ban for displaying a betting companies logo after scoring a goal. He lifted his top up  to reveal the bookmakers logo on his underwear.

He may have been breaking rules on advertising but the fine was a ridiculous one compared to some handed out over much more serious crimes.

Racism

The Croatian FA were handed a fine of £65,000 for Croat fans racially abusing Italy striker Mario Balotelli. That offence is far worse than that of Bendtner in most peoples opinions. To infringe on somebody’s human rights is sickening.

Racism cannot be allowed to take over our game and it must be stamped out by FIFA and UEFA. It seems that UEFA believe its more unacceptable for a player to advertise a company than a person to be racially abused.

Unsafe

Russia was handed a fine of £97,000 when a group of their supporters were involved in violence with stewards when their team played Czech Republic. Some fans also set off flares in the crowd. The Russia football federation have appealed against the fine, which will also carry a suspended points deduction.

I actually think this is the only fine that actually makes sense. The Russian fans actions could have caused injury to innocent people. Not only with the flares but by injuring stewards that where only there to do their job.

Invasion

England have been fined £4,035 by UEFA for ‘inappropriate conduct’. A small group of supporters apparently tried to invade the pitch when the Three Lions clashed with Sweden. The fans were believed to have surged towards the barrier when England scored the second and third goals.

The incident was so small that the UEFA match delegate didn’t even bother to put it in his match report. The English FA have accepted the fine due to the small amount and obvious realise that the incident was very minor.

I am glad to report that as of yesterday no England fan has been arrested in Ukraine or Poland. It’s a refreshing change from hearing about England fans poor behaviour at previous tournaments.

Priorities

UEFA really do need to get their priorities straight. Racism has raised its ugly head again at this tournament and UEFA do very little about it. To be honest I couldn’t care less what Nicklas Bendtner had on his underwear.

I do care about people being racially abused. It’s not big or clever it’s a sign of ignorance. It’s also a sign of lack of education about the matter. It doesn’t only happen in Eastern Europe but it still seems to be accepted among the Balkan countries. I’m here to tell you its not.

Superb

I have really enjoyed Euro 2012 and its been a fascinating tournament so far. I will give UEFA credit for the way the tournament has been run. However, I really do think that they need to look at their fining system and adjust it accordingly.

Should UEFA change their fining system?