Swiss FA hit with FIFA fine
Tuesday, 27 September 2005 13:32World governing body FIFA have fined the Swiss Football Association for crowd disturbances during the country's World Cup qualifying clash with Isreal earlier this month.
The Swiss, currently atop the Republic of Ireland's qualifying Group 4, are just one of three national football associations fined for crowd disturbances during this month's World Cup qualifiers.
In a statement on Tuesday, FIFA said its disciplinary committee had fined the Swiss FA 50,000 Swiss francs (¤32,000) after five supporters invaded the pitch during a match against Israel in Basle on September 3.
The Croatian Football Federation and the Malta Football Association were also hit with fines of 55,000 (¤35,000) and 13,000 Swiss francs (¤8,500) respectively after disorder by Croatian fans in the 1-1 draw in Ta'Qali on September 7.
Croatian fans ripped out seats and hurled them towards home fans and police after the draw which dented their chances of reaching next year's finals.
The Maltese authorities were found guilty of failing to take appropriate security precautions for the match.
The statement added that the Swiss and Croatian associations have been warned that further crowd disturbances by their supporters will lead to severe sanctions.
