Italy awarded 3-0 win after Serbia fan riot
Uefa have awarded Italy a 3-0 victory after their Euro 2012 qualifier against Serbia in Genoa on October 12th was abandoned due to crowd trouble.
The Group C match was called off by Scottish referee, Craig Thompson, after six minutes of play, as flares and fireworks rained down onto the Marassi pitch.
Along with the automatic 3-0 defeat, Serbia have also been order to play two games behind closed doors, with one match suspended. Meanwhile, the Italians were handed a suspended one-match stadium ban for their role in the troubles.
The result leaves Italy top of the Euro 2012 qualifying group, three points ahead of second-place Slovenia, while the Serbians now languish second to bottom on four points from four matches, denting their hopes of qualifying for 2012’s European Championships in Poland and Ukraine.
Along with the 3-0 result, Italy were also fined 100,000 euros for their failure to prevent fans entering the stadium with flares and fireworks.
However, Serbia were slapped with a heftier 120,000 euro fine, and told that none of their fans were permitted to attend the national team’s three remaining away qualifiers against Estonia, Northern Ireland and Slovenia.
Both Italy and Serbia have six days to appeal against the ruling, but there will be many who believe the Serbians were let off with little more than a slap on the wrist.
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