Spartak face fresh charges for crowd trouble vs Liverpool

Joe Williams

Spartak Moscow’s fans are in trouble with UEFA again after European football’s governing body opened proceedings against the club for incidents during Tuesday’s 1-1 Champions League draw with Liverpool.

The club are already facing a UEFA sanction after a flare fired by one of their fans during the opening Group E game against Maribor on September 13 almost hit the referee.

On an ugly night for the game in Slovenia, there was also sporadic fighting between the sets of fans and with police.

Liverpool’s visit to the Russian capital thankfully went off without a repeat of those scenes but Spartak still face three charges for illicit banners and chants, setting off fireworks and blocking stairways.

It is unclear what those banners and chants were but the usual pre-game ceremony at the Otkrytie Arena Stadium was notable for an enormous banner behind one goal which read “Win or Die”.

These charges will be dealt with by UEFA’s control, ethics and disciplinary body on October 19.