Serbia facing UEFA sanctions over crowd trouble in Genoa

Serbia could be disqualified from Euro 2012 following the crowd trouble that led to Tuesday night’s match between Italy and Serbia being abandoned.

The game was brought to a halt after only six minutes of play when a flare was thrown onto the pitch near Italy goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano.

Kick-off had already been delayed by 35 minutes after Serbian hooligans clashed with Italian police outside Genoa’s Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

A UEFA statement read: “UEFA has immediately opened a full and thorough disciplinary investigation into the incidents of serious disorder witnessed at the match and the circumstances surrounding it.

“Once the full dossier is completed, with the assistance of both the referee and delegate reports, the matter will be put before the independent UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body for further review and possible sanctions.

“The sanctions that are available to the Control and Disciplinary Body range from a reprimand or fine, up to a stadium closure or disqualification from competitions in progress and/or exclusion from future competitions.”

Tomislav Karadzic, the president of Serbian football, denounced the travelling fans’ actions and admitted the events were not a complete surprise.

“We had indications that this would happen,” said Karadzic. “These fans are just the executors, it was planned in Belgrade.”

“This has brought embarrassment and shame on our country. We had problems during training, before the match, and now this…the state must react.”