Instead, the club were given a $248,600 fine and forced to play its next six European games behind closed doors – two of which are suspended for three years as long as there is no repeat performance of that which marred the quarter-final second leg against AC Milan last week.
The game had to be abandoned after crowd trouble saw flares hurled onto the pitch – one of which hit the AC Milan goalkeeper.
But many felt the punishment too lenient – and believed Milan should have been kicked out of European competition for at least one season. Even with no crowd admitted, the club will still benefit from the huge sums of money on offer through TV and prize funds.
UEFA communications director William Gaillard denied the claims, however: “This is the highest fine in the history of UEFA and the loss of four home games will mean they lose out on revenue for around EUR8m.”
