UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings against Fenerbahce players Matteo Guendouzi and Mason Greenwood following the second leg of the Champions League playoff match at Lyon last month, where Fenerbahce won 2-1 to secure a 3-2 aggregate victory and advance to the group stage [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
After the match, both players engaged in provocative actions toward Lyon supporters, with Guendouzi reportedly giving the middle finger and shouting "Allez l'OM". The gestures triggered a brawl involving players and coaching staff from both teams as Guendouzi left the pitch [1, 6, 4, 7, 5, 8].
Lyon goalkeeper coach Antonio Ferreira was also involved in the tunnel confrontation. UEFA handed Ferreira a five-match ban with two matches suspended for one year probation [9, 6, 10, 7, 8].
UEFA fined Guendouzi €50,000 and issued a four-match ban, suspending two matches for one year probation. Greenwood received a €30,000 fine and a one-match ban, suspended for one year probation [9, 6, 10, 7, 8].
Fenerbahce club was fined €95,000 in total for pyrotechnics (€30,000), crowd disturbances (€15,000), and violating conduct rules (€50,000) during the match [9, 6, 10, 8].
Guendouzi defended his actions by stating Lyon supporters insulted his family throughout the match and warm-up. He said, "For 90 minutes, and even more during the warm-up, they insulted my family. It is something that affects you deeply." He added, "If we can't celebrate the way we want afterward, I find that disappointing. When you have 60,000 people insulting your family, your mother, your children, even before the game and no-one on the referee's side tells the crowd to be quiet," and noted such incidents would be addressed differently in France [6, 5, 8].
Fenerbahce announced they will appeal UEFA's sanctions. The club stated it would present defenses before UEFA bodies and pursue arbitration and appeal procedures to protect players' and club's rights [1, 8].
