Atlético forced to close stand after derby fracas

Atlético Madrid have been handed a three-game partial stadium closure as well as a €45,000 ($49,000) fine after fans threw objects onto the pitch during Sunday’s Madrid Derby, forcing the match to be temporarily suspended.

Play was halted midway through the second half of the LaLiga game — four minutes after Éder Militão had given visitors Real Madrid the lead — when fans threw lighters and plastic bottles onto the field.

When play resumed after a delay of 15 minutes, Ángel Correa equalised for Atlético as the game ended 1-1.

On Wednesday, the Spanish football federation’s (RFEF) competition committee punished Atlético with the three-game closure of the Fondo Sur, the stand where the objects were thrown from, behind one of the Metropolitano’s goals.

Atlético have the right to appeal the decision.

The LaLiga club have already acted to permanently ban one fan who has been identified as being involved in the incident, and say they are working with police to locate others.

Atlético said on Monday that they would change their rules to prohibit fans from entering the stadium wearing clothing meant to hide their identities, after some fans behind the goal on Sunday were pictured wearing balaclavas.

Speaking after the game, Atlético coach Diego Simeone and captain Koke — while condemning fans’ actions — also both criticised Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and suggested that his celebration of Militao’s goals had provoked a reaction.

“We all have to help,” Simeone said. “Obviously the fans throwing lighters — like happened at the Bernabéu, when Courtois was our player, and was hit on the head [in 2013] — isn’t right.

“But we, the protagonists, don’t help, when we provoke the fans and the fans get angry. It’s wrong, it isn’t right, but we have to stay calm and understand the situation, know how we can celebrate a goal.”

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti praised referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer — who ordered the stoppage, after three warnings to fans were ignored — for his handling of the situation.

“I think it was the correct decision by the referee,” Ancelotti said. “It was the right thing to do. Nobody likes to stop the game, but I think the referee did well.”