A masked person, fake blood, simulated sparks from exploding pyrotechnics. And again: a bloody chainsaw cutting the Barcelona crest in half. This is the choreography of the controversy unfolded by Paris Saint-Germain fans during Tuesday night's Champions League match, for which the Catalan club has filed a complaint with UEFA. Then there is the message written on the banner that accompanied that brutal drawing: Parisian-style massacre. This display did not please the Catalans at all: they considered it too aggressive and offensive, to the point that they asked the UEFA delegate to reflect the entire event in the report, condemning the episode also for the insulting chants chanted by the opposing fans.
Now the Federation is waiting for that report: it will decide whether there are sufficient grounds to open a procedure and, eventually, to proceed with a disciplinary measure. But the regulation is very clear. And the French club risks a lot, also because of the precedents. Possible sanctions range from a fine, the amount of which can increase depending on the aggravating circumstances found, to the closure of a section of the stadium in cases of repeated violations.
Article of UEFA Regulations that puts PSG in difficulty
The issue is covered by Article 16 (paragraph 2, points c and e) of the Disciplinary Regulations and, in a broader sense, by Articles 44 and 45 of the Security Regulations. And there are no excuses here, it is about objective liability: the club pays for its fans even if it is not directly at fault. The text of the norm refers to order and security at matches in UEFA competitions and leaves no room for interpretation:
16.1 The host clubs and associations are responsible for the order and security in and around the stadium before, during and after the match. They must comply with the obligations of the UEFA Security Regulations. They are liable for incidents and may be sanctioned, unless they prove that they were not negligent in the organisation.
16.2 However, all federations and clubs are responsible for the following inappropriate behaviour by their fans and may be sanctioned even if they prove that they were not negligent: a. unauthorised entry onto the pitch; b. throwing objects; c. lighting fireworks or other devices; d. using laser pointers; e. using gestures, words, objects or any other means to convey a provocative message inappropriate for a sporting event, in particular provocative messages of a political, ideological, religious or offensive nature; f. acts of damage to property; g. disruption of the ceremony during the national anthems; h. any other form of crowd disorder.
To complete the framework, there are also preventive obligations that directly belong to the host clubs and are provided for by articles 44 and 45, which define the framework of objective liability, according to which a club is always responsible for the actions of its fans, even if it proves that it is not at fault.
What the French club risks: fines, closure of the sector and aggravating precedents
UEFA has not yet initiated any formal proceedings against PSG: if what has been reported by Barcelona is expressly reflected in the delegate's report, then it is up to the Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) to initiate proceedings. As for the sanction, in practice fines for offensive banners range from a minimum of 10,000 to a maximum of 40,000 euros. For an isolated episode, the measure is almost always financial; the partial closure of the stadium is only applied in cases of serious repetition of the offence.
And for the French there is a serious precedent: it dates back to the Champions League final played in 2025 against Inter. Then the fans unfurled the “UEFA Mafia” banner, with the image of a pig: PSG paid a fine of 150 thousand euros, both for that banner, and for the unauthorized entry into the field and other damage caused by the fans.
