UEFA gives suspended bans to Lyon and Besiktas

Valverde wins Fleche Wallonne for record 5th time Bayern’s Neuer out for rest of season with foot fracture

French club Lyon and Turkey’s Besiktas have been given suspended one-season bans from European competition following crowd trouble at their Europa League quarterfinal.

UEFA said in a statement Wednesday that both clubs would be excluded from the next competition for which they qualified with the ban being deferred for a probationary period of two years.

The clubs were also fined 100,000 euros each after fireworks were lit and missiles were thrown at Lyon’s stadium before the first-leg match on April 13. The trouble followed fighting among French and Turkish fans in the city earlier in the day.

About 20 minutes before the scheduled kickoff, Lyon fans spilled on to the field for their own safety after the fireworks were set off and missiles were lobbed from an upper section of the stadium containing Besiktas supporters.

The game finally began 45 minutes late after police intervened in the stands.

UEFA’s control, ethics and disciplinary body considered “that the supporters of both clubs were responsible for the crowd disturbances” at the match.

“The charges against the French club were related to crowd disturbances, setting off of fireworks, stairways blocked, insufficient organization and field invasion by supporters after their second goal,” UEFA said.

The charges against Besiktas were related to crowd disturbances, the setting off of fireworks and the throwing of objects. Alejandro Valverde of Spain won the Fleche Wallonne (Walloon Arrow) for a record fifth time after a fourth straight title in the Belgian classic yesterday.

Valverde continued his excellent form with an attack that was unanswered by his rivals 250 meters from the finish in the brutal Mur de Huy, one of cycling’s most difficult climbs.

Daniel Martin of Ireland was second and Dylan Teuns of Belgium completed the podium.

Valverde, who will turn 37 next week, last year became the first rider to win the Fleche Wallonne four times. He also won the race in 2006, 2014 and 2015.

The Spanish rider has been enjoying a great start to the season with victories at the Tour of Andalusia, Tour of Basque Country and Tour of Catalonia.

The Mur de Huy has a 26 percent gradient at its steepest point, and Valverde knows it perfectly. Right from the start of the climb, he remained well-positioned at the front and waited for the right time to surge ahead with a few hundred meters left.

The major spring classics end with Sunday’s Liege-BastogneLiege race.

Valverde will be among the favorites, having already won it three times. The race is run over similarly hilly terrain in southern Belgium. Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a fracture to his left foot in Bayern Munich’s Champions League quarterfinal defeat at Real Madrid on Tuesday.

The club says Neuer sustained the injury in extra time, as Cristiano Ronaldo scored his third goal of Madrid’s 4-2 victory. The 31-year-old Neuer had already had a minor operation on his left foot on March 29 after a trainingground injury.

Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says, “Neuer is seriously injured. He’ll be out for eight weeks.”