Bayern Munich fans have been banned from attending the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final match after supporters threw fireworks onto the pitch during their 3-1 win over Lazio at the beginning of the month, the club announced Tuesday.
UEFA fined Bayern 40,000 euros for throwing fireworks during their 2-1 victory in Copenhagen in October. In December, Bayern were banned from purchasing away tickets for a suspended match. The incident at Lazio triggered the ban.
The club will not appeal UEFA’s decision, Bayern said in a statement. “We must accept this sanction. Not only were pyrotechnic devices ignited, but they were also deliberately fired onto the pitch, directly endangering spectators,” said Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen. “This is such an explicit violation conditions of the probation that it is unfortunately useless to appeal. The fact that we now have to play away without the support of our fans is a big blow. A small group of individual offenders have done a disservice to all our fans and the team.”
Bayern beat Lazio 3-1 on aggregate to reach the quarter-finals. The draw for the quarter-finals will take place on Friday. The first legs will take place on April 9 and 10, and the return matches on April 16 and 17.