Atletico Madrid ultras banned for 3 games for throwing objects as Real Madrid star Thibaut Courtois in recent draw - Reports
Atletico Madrid ultras have been banned from attending the club's next three home matches for their behavior during the 1-1 draw against Real Madrid in La Liga. The club have also been fined €45,000 after the Madrid derby was halted for 20 minutes on Sunday, September 29.
Thibaut Courtois had lighters and keys, among other objects, thrown at him from the south stand shortly after Real Madrid took the lead in the derby. The Belgian goalkeeper notified the referee, who asked the players to get off the pitch.
RFEF has now ordered the closure of that section of the south stand, where the Atletico Madrid ultras are located, for the next three matches. They believe that the club did not take sufficient care and the objects could have caused injuries to players. The statement read:
“Even if this concerned small objects, there’s no doubt that they were capable of causing some type of injury, bearing in mind the distance from which some of the objects were thrown, which could have impacted the opposition team goalkeeper they were aimed at in the head or face. While this concerns an action on the one hand which is not at all representative of the club’s fans, for Atletico Madrid’s part, sufficient measures were not taken to prevent such serious incidents in their mass action and the result.”
Angel Correa scored in second-half injury time to level things up and share the points between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. Los Blancos had taken the lead through Eder Militao in the 64th minute.
Atletico Madrid release statement after ultras throw object at Real Madrid star
Atletico Madrid have confirmed that they are working to find the individuals who threw objects at Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. The Spanish side added that such behavior is not acceptable and that they are taking the incident very seriously.
The statement read:
"Atlético de Madrid would like to express its disapproval of the throwing of objects that occurred from a section of the south stand in the 68th minute of the match against Real Madrid. From the moment these incidents took place, the club's security department has been working alongside the police to identify those involved, one of whom has already been identified. The club will apply its internal policy for serious offences to those involved in this incident. Such behaviour has no place in football and tarnishes the image of a stadium that hosted a spectacular atmosphere with more than 70,000 spectators, the vast majority of whom displayed exemplary conduct."
Atletico Madrid next face Real Sociedad in the league, while Los Blancos face Villarreal.