Roma Forfeit Dynamo Match, Hit With Stadium Ban By U.E.F.A.

NYON, Switzerland (AFP) - UEFA's disciplinary body hit Italian Serie A club Roma with stern punishment for the violent incident that forced last week's Champions League match against Dynamo Kiev to be abandoned.
Kiev were awarded the match with a 3-0 scoreline and Roma will have to play their next two Champions League home games - against Bayer Leverkusen on November 3 and Real Madrid on December 8 - behind closed doors.
Although the punishment will cost them hundreds of thousands of euros in lost revenue and possibly a place in the knockout stages, Roma said they had been treated fairly and would not be lodging an appeal.
"We are happy with UEFA's decision, there will be no appeal," the club said in an official statement.
"The sentence is an important acknowledgement of the professionalism shown by our club in the match against Dynamo and was handed out on the understanding that such a serious episode must not be repeated."
Last Wednesday's tie at the Olympic stadium was suspended after Swedish referee Anders Frisk was injured by a missile thrown from the crowd as left the field at half-time. Ukranian side Dynamo were leading the Group B match 1-0.
The object, hurled from the section where VIPs are seated and believed to be a coin, hit Frisk on the forehead.
With blood streaming down his face, he was taken to a corridor beneath the stadium and tended to by doctors.
The second-half was delayed for almost an hour before Frisk himself decided to suspend the match, saying he was not in a fit state to continue and that he feared for his safety.
The first-half ended controversially with Frisk sending off French defender Philippe Mexes for kicking Dymano striker Maris Verpakovskis off the ball.
Mexes has been suspended for two matches for "particularly unsporting conduct," UEFA said.
Last week's ugly incident was not Frisk's first bad experience at the Olympic stadium.
Two-and-a-half years ago the Swede was in charge of a highly-charged Champions League match between Roma and Turkish club Galatasaray.
Fighting involving players and officials broke out after a bad-tempered 1-1 draw and riot police had to separate the two sides.
The Italian club received a one-match stadium ban, while two of their players, Francesco Totti and Francisco Lima, were suspended for three matches.
Roma fans were in trouble last season after they forced the city derby against Lazio to be abandoned.
A rumour spread among supporters that a young Roma fan had been run over by a police van before the match, sparking serious crowd disorder in and around the stadium that left 150 police officers injured.
The rumour turned out to be false. In addition to a hefty fine, Roma received a three-match stadium ban and had to play their home matches in the Sicilian city of Palermo.