Dinamo Tbilisi loses case versus UEFA over fans’ Nazi banner

<p>LAUSANNE, Switzerland &mdash; Georgian soccer club Dinamo Tbilisi lost its appeal at sport’s highest court against UEFA punishments for fans displaying a banner judged to be neo-Nazi.</p>
<p>The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Wednesday its judges upheld a UEFA ruling for “racist behavior” by fans at a Europa League game in 2019.</p>
<p>UEFA prosecuted the case with evidence from its anti-discrimination partner Fare, whose delegate worked at Dinamo’s game in the qualifying rounds against Gabala of Azerbaijan.</p>
<p>Dinamo fans showed a flag in club colors with the number “88,” widely linked to a Nazi slogan where the numbers signify ‘H’ as the eighth letter of the alphabet.</p>
<p>The flag included “19” in smaller numbers and the English phrase “Old School.”</p>
<p>The club argued “1988 Old School” was “the name of the group of the team supporters and that it did not intend to promote any form of Nazi propaganda.”</p>
<p>The CAS ruling by three judges noted “the banner’s clear and objective racist meaning” and that UEFA had charged Dinamo in a similar case the previous season.</p>
<p>UEFA’s order to play a Europa League game in an empty stadium was served when Dinamo hosted Feyenoord in 2019.</p>
<p>The club, which won the 1981 European Cup Winners’ Cup title, was also fined 50,000 euros ($61,000).</p>
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