Aston Villa have failed in their bid to overturn a suspended one-match prohibition on selling tickets to travelling supporters, after UEFA rejected the club’s appeal on Wednesday.
The sanction was imposed following the display of a banner deemed discriminatory during Villa’s Europa League final clash with Freiburg in May.
A UEFA source told The Athletic that the banner contained references to the traveller community.
Alongside the suspended ban, Villa were also hit with a €10,000 fine.
A banner reportedly discriminating against the traveller community was punished by UEFA
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The club maintained throughout the appeals process that the sanction was unwarranted, arguing that the actions of a single unidentified person should not carry consequences for the entire club.
Villa’s challenge to the ruling rested on the argument that the offending banner was not situated within their designated supporter area.
Instead, it was positioned in a general section of the stadium where UEFA itself had been responsible for ticket sales.
The club contended that the banner could not have appeared on their approved flag list, nor had the person carrying it obtained their ticket through Villa’s own channels.
Although the banner appeared to belong to a Villa supporter, the individual was seated in a neutral part of the ground.
Aston Villa take on Paris Saint-Germain tonight in the UEFA Super Cup
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This meant the club had no means of identifying who was responsible, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Villa’s appeal also highlighted that the club was never notified during the match that the banner was on display, meaning they had no opportunity to assist in having it taken down promptly.
Evidence presented during the case indicated the banner was first spotted towards the conclusion of the opening half and remained visible until the final whistle.
UEFA’s own regulations grant match officials the power to halt proceedings and request a stadium announcement urging fans to cease racist behaviour, a provision that extends to discriminatory banners as well as chants and verbal abuse.
Despite these arguments, Villa’s challenge was unsuccessful. The club’s position was that it had fulfilled its own safety obligations and should not bear responsibility for a failing in matchday operations beyond its control.
Aston Villa won the Europa League after thrashing Freiburg
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The suspended ban carries a two-year probationary period and would apply to Villa’s first Champions League away fixture of the 2026-27 campaign should any further breach occur.
Unai Emery’s side take on Paris Saint-Germain in the Super Cup this evening, fresh from their commanding 3-0 victory over Freiburg in the Europa League final. That triumph secured Villa’s first piece of European silverware in 44 years.
The governing body’s regulations stipulate that match organisers, working alongside police commanders and safety officers, must prevent provocative actions by spectators inside or in the immediate vicinity of the stadium, including discriminatory banners and flags.
