GENEVA (AP) _ UEFA awarded Sweden a 3-0 victory over Denmark on
Friday after last week's European Championship qualifier was
abandoned because a Danish soccer fan attacked the referee.
Denmark midfielder Christian Poulsen was also banned for three
competitive internationals, after punching Sweden striker Markus
Rosenberg in the stomach during the same match on Saturday.
In addition, UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Body fined the
Danish Football Association 100,000 Swiss francs (C$86,000) and
ordered it to play their next four home Euro 2008 qualifiers at
least 250 kilometres from Copenhagen. Its match against
Liechtenstein on Sept. 12 must also be played at an empty stadium,
UEFA said.
German referee Herbert Fandel abandoned the qualifier in the
closing stages of the contest with the scores level at 3-3 after a
Danish fan stormed the field and threw a punch at him in the final
moments of the Group F match. The attack came moments after Fandel
had given a red card to Poulsen and awarded a penalty to Sweden.
The decision puts Sweden in a clear lead in Group F with 18
points, three ahead of Spain. Denmark is in fourth place, eight
points behind.
Jim Stjerne Hansen, secretary general of the Danish soccer
federation, said the decision would be appealed.
``We're shocked by the scope of these rulings,'' Stjerne Hansen
said, describing the decision as ``the harshest sanction I have ever
seen.''
He said there are no UEFA-approved stadiums in Denmark that are
located more than 250 kilometres away from the capital.
``It seems that they didn't look at the geography when they made
their decision,'' Stjerne Hansen said. ``Denmark is a small
country.''
The Parken stadium in Copenhagen is expected to lose
approximately 18 million kroner (C$3.4 million) in income for all
four games.
Parken chief executive Flemming Oestergaard was not immediately
available for comment.
On Wednesday, Denmark's soccer federation suspended ticket sales
for its next two European qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Spain
pending UEFA's decision.
The federation had already sold 18,200 tickets for the match
against Liechtenstein, but said it would reimburse fans if UEFA
changed the venue.
As Poulsen did not play in Denmark's 2-0 win in Latvia last
Wednesday, the remaining two matches of his suspension will be
served in the return game in Sweden on Sept. 8 and the home match
against Liechtenstein.
The man, who was not identified by police, was able to get a hand
to Fandel's neck before being restrained by Danish players. He has
since apologized for the attack.
Stjerne Hansen said the fan's action was ``one man's madness in a
split second.''
