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harmony frankfurt They say uefa The appeal to transfer it has been rejected Champions League on the game napoli Moved to a neutral venue after being banned from attending their fans.
The Bundesliga club said on Friday that the match on November 4 in Naples will go ahead as planned without its supporters.
Frankfurt fans were locked out on 22 September when Italian authorities issued an order to Napoli denying the German club the normal ticket allocation for visiting teams due to the risk of violence between rival fans.
“It is unacceptable that in most venues away fans are welcomed despite major challenges, while in others – notably recently in France and Italy – away supporters are kept out by the authorities despite similar conditions and risks,” Frankfurt board member Philipp Reschke said in a statement.
Frankfurt had asked governing body UEFA earlier this month to move the game to a neutral venue or hold it without fans, alleging security and organizational shortcomings at Napoli’s stadium.
“UEFA rules do not yet provide clubs that are unilaterally affected by the official ban on away fans, or even the association itself, with any means of countering – or at least offsetting – this practice and the resulting atmospheric and competitive losses on the pitch,” Reschke said.
Frankfurt also protested in 2023 when its supporters were banned from the second leg of the Champions League last-16 match in Naples following fan trouble around the first leg in Frankfurt.
Frankfurt said since its fans were first banned from Naples in 2023, there have been 15 more cases of away fans being banned in UEFA club competitions.
In England, West Midlands Police banned Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending the Europa League match at Aston Villa on 6 November due to security concerns. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer strongly criticized the ban.
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