As if Belgian football wasn't already getting enough bad publicity, the Disciplinary Committee for Professional Football (DCP) had to rule on two notable cases today: a Club Brugge supporter who casually gave a Hitler salute in the Jan Breydelstadion and Union fans who made a pyrotechnic show at the bekerfinal. During the match between Club Brugge and Union (5-0), a supporter in a home stand gave a Nazi salute. The man wore a yellow-black Flemish flag. The incident led to outrage and a complaint from Union. Club Brugge reacted immediately to the incident. The club identified the supporter, suspended his membership pending further procedures, and emphasized during the hearing that such behavior is not tolerated. “We are happy to say that this person did not attend the title celebration”, Club Brugge told the DCP. The Committee took this into account and imposed a relatively mild penalty: a delayed fine of 2,000 euros. In other words: Club Brugge escapes a financial penalty for now, but a future incident could still result in a fine.

Union gets reprimanded for pyro show On the other side of the country, Union also had to answer for itself. During the won bekerfinal against Anderlecht, several supporters thought a bekerfeast was not complete without smoke, fire, and fireworks. On three different occasions, pyro was lit in the stands. Union argued that it was an exceptional match with thousands of extra supporters, and that the club does everything in its power to prevent such incidents. Also, the incidents did not affect the course of the match. The Disciplinary Committee had some understanding for these arguments, but did not let the club off without a penalty. While the bondsparket had asked for a fine of 5,000 euros, the final bill was stuck at 3,500 euros.

Anderlecht still waiting for verdict Interestingly, the dossier of Anderlecht is still pending. According to the bondsparket, the supporters of Anderlecht went one step further than those of Union and their pyro use even caused hindrance during the match. The prosecutor therefore asked for a fine of 10,000 euros. Whether this will be effective will be clear at the latest next week.