Borussia Dortmund could be in action because of the ‘UEFA Mafia’ banner displayed in the Champions League

Borussia Dortmund is likely to face sanctions after displaying a banner reading ‘UEFA Mafia’ before Tuesday’s Champions League match against Celtic.

The nine individual letters describing the message were held up by supporters in the ‘Yellow Wall’ at the Westfalenstadion, accompanied by a second banner reading: “You don’t care about the sport – all you care about is money “.

Dortmund fans displayed a third banner advertising the website ‘Reclaim the Game’, a blog outlining supporters’ criticism of the new Champions League reform.

As per UEFA protocol, the governing body will wait for reports from the match before considering any action.

UEFA has previously punished clubs for using the word ‘mafia’, considering it a ‘provocative and offensive message’.

In March 2022, Marseille were fined €20,000 for displaying a “UEFA Mafia” banner during their Europa Conference League play-off match against Qarabag, for which the club later apologized. The banner was believed to convey “provocative messages of a political and offensive nature”.

Dortmund fans have a history of anti-UEFA protests. During last season’s Champions League group stage match against Newcastle United, supporters threw fake money, gold bars and tennis balls onto the pitch and displayed several banners that appeared to criticize European football’s governing body.

During the match in Newcastle, two banners carried the same message as on Tuesday against Celtic. Drawings appearing to depict FIFA president Gianni Infantino, PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi and former Juventus president Andrea Agnelli were also held up.

Dortmund held up anti-UEFA banners against Newcastle in November 2023 (Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Dortmund was fined €7,375 by UEFA for throwing objects on the pitch, but was given no action due to the anti-UEFA banners.

Part of the Reclaim the Game blog reads: “The magic of European competitions is increasingly devalued by UEFA and the European Club Association (ECA). With the reform of the UEFA club competitions in the coming season, this magic is in danger of being completely lost.

“The growing number of matches in the competitions will push players and fans to their limits. The significantly higher revenues that will be generated by the reforms also have the potential to destroy domestic leagues and pave the way for an impending European Super League.”

The new Champions League format was introduced this season and has expanded the competition from 32 teams to 36. A ‘league stage’ has replaced the group stage and teams now play eight matches instead of six.

The format was introduced by UEFA in the hope that it will lead to more competitive matches from the outset, with bigger matches earlier in the tournament as the top teams are more likely to play against each other rather than being largely kept apart until the knock-out -out phase.

Dortmund beat Celtic 7-1 on Tuesday evening, with Karim Adeyemi scoring a first-half hat-trick.

(Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)