UEFA: stadium ban upheld on appeal, Olympique Lyonnais appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport

"Olympique Lyonnais (Ligue 1 Conforama) has taken note of the decision of the UEFA Appeals Committee to uphold the decision taken at first instance, and has decided to refer the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport", stated the Lyon (FRA) club on 21/09/2018, following the rejection of its appeal of the original decision on 23/08/2018.

Olympique Lyonnais was sanctioned to play its next two home European cup matches behind closed doors, with the sanction for the second game suspended for a probationary period of 2 years, and a fine of €100,000. This followed the incidents that took place in the Round of 16 return leg of the 2017-18 Europa League, OL - PFC CSKA Moscow (2-3, 3-3 on aggregate, OL eliminated on aways goals), at the Groupama Stadium on 15/03/2018.

"The club nevertheless regrets that UEFA has not taken into account, for events outside the stadium, that in France clubs are not allowed to intervene in the public domain, which is under the sole responsibility of the local authorities. The club reiterates its commitment to fight against all forms of violence and all…