FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Eintracht Frankfurt says UEFA has rejected an appeal to move its Champions League game at Napoli to a neutral venue after its fans were banned from attending.
The match will go ahead as initially planned in Naples on Nov. 4 without its supporters, the Bundesliga club said Friday.
The Frankfurt fans were excluded on Sept. 22 when Italian authorities issued an order to Napoli denying the German club the usual ticket allocation for visiting teams because of the risk of violence between rival fans.
“It’s unacceptable that in most places away fans are welcomed as a matter of course despite major challenges, while in others — most recently in France and Italy in particular — away supporters are simply excluded by authorities in spite of identical circumstances and risks,” Frankfurt board member Philipp Reschke said in a statement.
Frankfurt asked governing body UEFA earlier this month to either move the game to a neutral venue or hold it without fans, alleging safety and organizational deficiencies at Napoli’s stadium.
“UEFA regulations do not yet provide clubs who are unilaterally affected by official bans on away fans, or even the association itself, with any means of countering – or at least offsetting – this practice and the resulting atmospheric and competitive disadvantage on the pitch,” Reschke said.
Frankfurt also protested in 2023 when its supporters were banned from the second leg of a Champions League last-16 match in Naples following fan trouble around the first leg in Frankfurt.
Frankfurt said since its fans were first banned from Naples in 2023, there have been 15 more instances of away fans being banned in UEFA club competitions.
In England, West Midlands Police banned Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending a Europa League match at Aston Villa on Nov. 6 because of security concerns. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer strongly criticized the ban.
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The Associated Press
