Spurs’ bye into the last 16 of the Uefa Cup has been confirmed after Feyenoord lost their appeal against being kicked out of the competition.
The Dutch club were expelled and fined £41,000 by Uefa following crowd trouble against French side Nancy in the group stage. They appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne which today rejected their claim.
"The court has dismissed the appeal filed by Feyenoord Rotterdam against the decision issued by Uefa to exclude the Dutch club from the Uefa Cup for the season 2006-2007," read a CAS statement. "The CAS has confirmed in full the Uefa decision."
Feyenoord’s financial director Onno Jacobs was understandably upset by the decision saying that "we have to accept this decision, though it is unpleasant for us. Our club and our real fans are being punished for the misbehaviour of people we have nothing to do with. We emphasised that we were powerless in this matter because the people who misbehaved did not got match tickets from us."
Police threw tear gas in the Marcel-Picot Stadium after fans fought and smashed windows with Feyenoord trailing 3-0 in November before the referee was forced to temporarily stop the match in the 80th minute because the tear gas was affecting players.
UEFA president Michel Platini welcomed the decision of CAS, saying: "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."
Of course, this news comes just after the suspention of Italian football after a policeman was killed in rioting. Spurs will now play Parma or Braga in the next round. [Mof Gimmers]