Due to a lack of prospects of success, 1. FC Köln decided not to go before the International Court of Arbitration for Sports and thus accepted the UEFA verdict after the riots in Nice.
After an intensive examination of the reasons for the verdict and consideration of the perspectives, according to the club, “there were not sufficient prospects of success against the verdict of UEFA, both from (association) legal and temporal perspectives”.
In addition to a fine of 100,000 euros, the people of Cologne were also sentenced to banning fans from the next two away games. The first of these at Partizan Belgrade will take place on October 13th. Nevertheless, the verdict is considered “practically wrong,” above all as a collective punishment, it said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the club has already issued the first stadium bans in the course of the riots before the first group game of the Conference League at OGC Nice (1-1).
The 16 people identified so far by the Cologne police have “immediately and until further notice a local stadium ban,” said the club. A nationwide stadium ban is also being suggested via the Central Police Information Center (ZIS).