UEFA Warns Staff of Safety Concerns Amid Manchester City Backlash

Manchester City fans’ antipathy toward UEFA predates the European ban. Spectators have long jeered the Champions League anthem when it is played before matches in the competition, amid a festering sense that the team — which was lifted out of decades of mediocrity by the riches of its Gulf ownership group — is treated unfairly because it is not a part of soccer’s established elite.

Shortly after Manchester City’s ban was announced, the club issued a statement in which it decried a “prejudicial process” that was “initiated by UEFA, prosecuted by UEFA and judged by UEFA.”

“Ultimately,” the team’s chief executive, Ferran Soriano, said in an interview with the club’s website, “this seems to be less about justice and more about politics.”

Still, the scale and the tone of fan frustration have led UEFA to take no chances. And it is not the only group facing a backlash.

At last year’s F.A. Cup final, which City won to complete a sweep of English titles in one season, a fan stormed into the press seating area at Wembley Stadium and profanely berated members of the news media over what he called bias toward City’s title rival Liverpool.

Paul McCarthy, an official with the Football Writers’ Association, an organization that represents soccer journalists, told The New York Times that he had been in communication with Manchester City about the hostile messages, which have included not only personal abuse but also threats of violence and the publication of personal information. One popular unofficial fan forum has in recent days taken down some of the offending material.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/sports/soccer/manchester-city-uefa.html