- Safiu Kehinde
European football governing body, UEFA, has slammed a €15,000 fine on Spanish football giant, Real Madrid, after a fan was seen performing a Nazi salute during their UEFA Champions League playoff second-leg match against Benfica last week.
UEFA announced the sanction in a statement issued on Friday.
Coupled with the fine, football body added that the club would also face a partial stadium closure.
Meanwhile, the Spanish club earlier said it had asked its disciplinary committee to begin an immediate expulsion procedure against the member identified performing the gesture.
According to the club, the supporter was identified by security staff shortly after appearing on the broadcast and was immediately removed from the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
On the partial stadium closure, UEFA ordered that 500 seats in the lower south stand of the stadium will be closed for one match.
The punishment had however been suspended for one year.
Recall that Real Madrid won the match 2–1 and advanced to the round of 16 with a 3–1 aggregate victory.
They will face Manchester City in the next round of the competition.
Nazi salute is the infamous greetings popularised by the Nazist regime of late German leader, Adolf Hilter.
It was a symbol of solidarity largely associated with the regime during World War II often remembered for the horrific holocaust against Jews in Germany.
As part of the measures taken after the fall of the regime, the Nazi salute was banned as it was considered offensive.
However, recent history had seen the re-emergence of the salute notably by some athletes and fans.
The world of sports had since adopted strict measures and punishment for those caught performing the salute.