Borussia Dortmund fans shout ‘UEFA mafia’ over Champions League changes

DORTMUND, Germany (AP) — Borussia Dortmund fans have made clear their opposition to Champions League reforms with a huge tifo that blasts European soccer governing body UEFA.

The supporters displayed the words “UEFA Mafia” behind one of the goals before Tuesday’s match against Scottish team Celtic, above a banner reading “You don’t care about the sport – all you care about is money!” Another banner above showed a website link that made it clear that the banners referred to Champions League reforms.

This season, UEFA has changed the structure of Europe’s premier competition by adding four extra teams. The group stage has been scrapped for a competition system in which each of the now 36 participating teams plays eight opponents once in an initial phase of the competition.

Celtic fans also flew Palestinian and Lebanese flags before Tuesday’s match.

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The Associated Press