The Disciplinary Committee of the Spanish Football Federation punished Sevilla by partially closing its stadium for three matches, due to the incidents of the derby against Betis (0-2), which was played last Sunday, and which was stopped for 15 minutes due to throwing objects. The penalty also includes a fine of €45,000 for the Sevilla team, for very serious offenses classified in Article 76.2, in line with Article 15 of the Spanish Football Federation’s Disciplinary Code.
The Disciplinary Committee asked Sevilla to inform within 24 hours of the sectors that make up the “northern box” from which the shots occurred, as described in the arbitration report, to ensure strict compliance with its decision in accordance with the Spanish Football Federation’s Disciplinary Code. The match between Sevilla and Betis in Round 14 was stopped in the 86th minute for fifteen minutes, when the score was 0-2, due to objects being thrown from the stands, which started in the 79th minute and was repeated in the 86th minute after Sevilla striker Issac Romero was sent off with a direct red card.
Andalusian referee Jose Luis Munuera’s report reflected that in the 79th minute, several objects were thrown from the northern end towards the area where the visiting team was located, including lighters and several water bottles, some of them full, without hitting the players. Due to this incident, the release protocol was activated to request the public address system to stop these actions, which were repeated in the 86th minute, and due to the continuous repetition, from the same area, the match was temporarily suspended and the two teams withdrew to the locker rooms.
The referee informed the representatives of the two teams, the La Liga administration, the security coordinator, and the federation’s representative that if the shots were repeated, the match would be permanently stopped, which he was able to resume about 18 minutes after the suspension without any new incidents. In addition to the club’s punishment, Sevilla player Isaac Romero was punished by discipline for two matches, as he was sent off with a direct red card, for behaving in a violent manner on the sidelines of the match, by kicking an opponent without the ball being within reach of the game, while using excessive force, according to what was stated in the minutes.
The committee rejected Sevilla’s claims in defense of the player, who claimed that the behavior attributed to his player did not exist, since moments before Romero received a clear foul from the opponent’s player, who dropped him to the ground while playing, and provoked his reaction, which is punishable as a reckless act with a direct free kick and a warning, but not with expulsion.