Basel charged by Uefa over Greenpeace protest at Champions League game

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/oct/03/basel-greenpeace-protest-champions-league

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Uefa has opened disciplinary proceedings against Basel after their Champions League defeat by Schalke at St Jakob-Park on Tuesday was interrupted when Greenpeace protesters dropped down on ropes from the stadium roof and unfurled a banner objecting to a sponsor, Gazprom.

Uefa's control and disciplinary body will deal with the case during its next meeting on 17 October and Basel, who lost the match 1-0, have been charged with insufficient organisation of the match. Uefa rules state that "clubs are responsible for order and security both inside and around the stadium before, during and after matches" and it will be up to Basel to prove they have not been negligent in any way in the organisation of the match.

The club could face a fine as a result of the disruption caused by Greenpeace, whose protest came in front of the watching Uefa president, Michel Platini. Gazprom is a sponsor of the Champions League and Schalke.

Two weeks ago Russian authorities detained 30 members of the pressure group who were aboard an icebreaker, the Arctic Sunrise, when they broke up attempts to scale an offshore oil platform run by the state-run Gazprom. All 30 have been remanded in custody for two months.

Play was halted for around five minutes in Switzerland, where four protesters wearing orange boiler suits and helmets descended slowly on ropes which they had dropped from the roof after a few minutes of play.

The banners said "Gazprom, don't foul the Arctic" and "Free the Arctic 30" and had Greenpeace written at the bottom. The protesters then hauled themselves back on to the roof while officials watched from the touchline and the match continued.

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