UEFA order Atletico Madrid to remove 5,000 seats for Man City clash

The ruling comes after crowd trouble in the first leg

UEFA have ordered Atletico Madrid to close a part of the Wanda Metropolitano for the second leg of their Champions League tie with Manchester City following crowd trouble last week. The La Liga champions will see 5,000 tickets taken away from them after their fans were involved in unsavoury scenes in Manchester that saw the Greater Manchester Police make multiple arrests. UEFA released a statement last Friday confirming it had charged Atletico in relation to the incidents that occurred in the away section of the Etihad. "Disciplinary proceedings have been instigated in accordance with Article 55 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations (DR) following the UEFA Champions League quarter-final match between Manchester City FC and Club Atlético de Madrid (1-0) played on 5 April 2022 in England," the statement read. And European football's governing body has now confirmed Atlético's punishment will entail a partial closure of their 68,456 capacity stadium. "The UEFA Appeals Body has announced the following decision which would affect the attendance of supporters to UEFA matches," the statement read. "To order the partial closure of the Club Atlético de Madrid stadium during the next (1) UEFA competition match in which Club Atlético de Madrid would play as the host club, for the discriminatory behaviour of its supporters. Club Atlético de Madrid shall inform prior to the match, the sector(s) to be closed, which shall at least comprehend 5,000 seats. "To order Club Atlético de Madrid to implement the following directive in the next UEFA competition match which the club shall play as the host club: to display a banner with the wording “#NoToRacism”, with the UEFA logo on it. Atlético Madrid face a one-goal deficit after losing the first leg courtesy of a Kevin De Bruyne goal, and will have to venture out of their own half at some point if they are to make it through to the semi-finals.