The newly-elected UEFA president Michel Platini has welcomed the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decision to upheld UEFA’s ruling of excluding Dutch side Feyenoord from the competition following the crowd trouble against French side Nancy in the group stage.

Hence, Tottenham Hotspur have been confirmed a bye into the last 16 of the UEFA Cup. Feyenoord were also fined £41,000 (100,000 Swiss francs) by the governing body for football in Europe.

It may be recalled that the UEFA Cup match at Nancy was suspended for more than 30 minutes after the French side had gone 3-0 in front as Dutch fans tried to smash the glass barriers in the stands and threw seats at stewards.

The fact that the CAS verdict has come in the backdrop of severe hooliganism in Italy, the decision bodes well for the prevention of such disruptive acts in future.

“I am very happy with the decision of CAS to uphold the UEFA appeals body judgement,” said Platini.

“This sends out a strong message that acts of violence by fans within the game will be heavily dealt with and punished by the relevant authorities.

“Recent tragic incidents have shown that we must work together to eradicate all forms of hooliganism or violence from our game.”

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