Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Melee at the Mestalla Update

Last week I posted the video of the fight that erupted after Valencia eliminated Inter Milan in the Champions League round of 16. Visually it was quite comical seeing David Navarro run around like the Road Runner escaping the clutches of Wile E. Coyote, but it did result in Inter's Nicolas Burdisso suffering a broken nose. Now UEFA has brought the hammer down on those involved.

Valencia's David Navarro received a 7-month ban, while the man on the receiving end of his punch got a 6 match ban. UEFA is asking that FIFA extend Navarro's ban to international competitions as well. Inter's Maicon (6 matches), Ivan Cordoba (3 matches) , Julio Cruz (2 matches) also earned bans and Valencia's Carlos Marchena has a 4 match ban. Both clubs were fined 250,000 Swiss Francs (about $200,000). No stadium ban was issued for Valencia in the Quarterfinal matchup with Chelsea.

I can't get over the 7-month ban. It just seems very long, but maybe he's getting punished for a hit-and-run as well.