DONS AND APOLLON CHARGED OVER FIGHT NIGHT
ABERDEEN and Apollon Limassol have both been charged by UEFA following the disturbances which marred last week’s Europa League qualifier in Cyprus. The Dons face two disciplinary charges over ‘crowd disturbances’ and ‘no stewards travelling with supporters’, the latter in contravention of UEFA’s safety and security regulations. The Cypriots face three charges of ‘setting off of fireworks’, ‘throwing of objects’ and ‘improper conduct of the team’. Riot police moved into the away section of the AEK Arena in Larnaca as Aberdeen fans clashed with stewards after the 2-0 defeat saw their team go out 3-2 on aggregate in the competition’s third qualifying round. Flares were lit early in the second half in the home section, with one landing inside the goal behind Dons keeper Joe Lewis. Swiss referee Stephan Klossner told an official he would abandon the tie if the behaviour did not cease. Speaking about the incident after the game, Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes said: ‘It is ridiculous that we have to deal with that. It didn’t help the flow of the game, but I don’t think he (Lewis) was damaged. I don’t think it affected him too much. ‘We expected it to be a bit volatile and plenty of passion from the side, but it did boil over at times. ‘I am hearing our fans got treated terribly as well by the stewards here, steaming in with flares and tear gas and everything else to defuse the situation. ‘I didn’t get to see it, but you saw some of the stuff that was going on, things getting thrown on to the pitch, people spitting into the dugout and flares getting thrown on. That’s when you should have seen the stewards being more visible, not treating our fans the way they did.’ Aberdeen have opened an investigation into the fighting in the away section. Apollon automatically triggered the improper conduct charge after receiving five yellow cards. UEFA’s disciplinary body will deal with the case on August 17.