Derry City accepts fine and suspended partial stadium ban after CSKA crowd trouble
Derry City say they fully accept the decision of UEFA's Appeals Body to impose a fine of €20,000 and impose a partial closure of the North Stand – suspended for two years – following trouble at last week's Europa League tie with Bulgarian club, CSKA Sofia.
Trouble flared when the travelling Sofia fans charged at home supporters following Ellis Chapman's goal to bring the tie level at 3-3 on aggregate. The Sofia fans fans had also clashed with home supporters on their way to the ground last Thursday evening. However, the Brandywell club accepted some home fans had thrown objects in retaliation after the travelling fans’ aggression while one supporter entered the field of play and confronted Sofia goalkeeper, Dimitar Evtimov.
The full list of charges for both clubs read: CSKA Sofia - Throwing of objects, Crowd disturbances, Acts of damage caused to the stadium and/or its installations, Racist and/or discriminatory behaviour (Nazi salutes), Violating the basic rules of decent conduct (staff member).
Charges against Derry City - Effective invasion of the field of play, Throwing of objects, Crowd disturbances and Insufficient protection of the playing area against intruders.
Delivering its decision, Sofia were fined €30,000 and banned from the selling tickets to their supporters for this week's Europa League trip to Qarabag for the throwing of objects, acts of damage and crowd disturbances. In addition UEFA ordered Sofia to contact Derry City within 30 days for the settlement of the damages caused to seats in The Southend Park Stand.
Also, UEFA imposed a €20,000 fine and placed a ban on selling tickets to supporters for an additional one UEFA club competition away match for the racist and/or discriminatory behaviour of its supporters – that punishment being suspended for two years – while there was also a €5,000 fine for a CSKA staff member who UEFA said, "violated the basic rules of decent conduct."
Reacting to the decision, Derry City said they would also be conducting their own internal investigation into the behaviour of a small minority of home supporters with the possibility of a lifetime bans from the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium not being ruled out
"Today, the UEFA Appeals Body imposed a fine of €20,000 on Derry City FC, and an order directing the partial closure of North Stand at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium for one home UEFA club competition," read a club statement., "The partial closure of the North Stand is suspended for a probationary period of two years.
"These penalties have been imposed on Derry City FC arising from crowd disturbances during its match against CSKA Sofia on 16 July 2026. While Derry City FC complained to UEFA about the aggressive and intimidatory behaviour of the CSKA Sofia supporters, the club accepted that its own supporters had thrown objects onto the field of play and that one of its supporters had entered the field of play and approached the CSKA goalkeeper, before being returned to the stand by security personnel.
"Derry City FC fully accepts the decision of the UEFA Appeals Body. Derry City FC is committed to taking all necessary steps to ensure that home matches are played in an environment that is safe for players and supporters alike.
"An investigation is underway to identify those supporters of Derry City FC who were involved in these incidents and who ultimately caused the club to incur this fine. Once identified, the club will take appropriate steps to sanction these supporters, including the possibility of a lifetime ban from the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.
"Separately, CSKA Sofia has apologised to Derry City FC for the damage caused to the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium by its supporters. CSKA Sofia has agreed to cover the cost of remediating this damage and Derry City FC is liaising with CSKA Sofia on this issue."