Athletic Club enjoyed a fine season overall, but there will still be a sense of bitterness with how their European run ended, falling to a fatal 3-0 defeat at home to Manchester United. It ended their hopes and dreams of a home final at San Mames, with a red card for Dani Vivian proving the point of inflection in the tie.
The entirety of Bilbao was in celebration mode before the game, with the square where Los Leones were staying before the match packed out, and a raucous atmosphere greeting the teams at San Mames. Despite a good start, things turned sour swiftly, and in UEFA’s view, got out of hand.
Athletic announced on Tuesday that they had been fined for the behaviour of their fans both in Bilbao and in Manchester. The total of the fines amounts to €50k, with a first fine imposed for offensive chants (€10k) and the throwing of objects from the stands (€20k).
Meanwhile at Old Trafford, the traveling support were generally received well, but were fined an additional €20k for lighting flares and offensive chants, split equally.
Despite Athletic pointing out the generally good behaviour of their fanbase, Basque ultras were involved in multiple incidents during their European clashes last season. Both Real Sociedad and Athletic fans clashed with ultras in Rome, belonging to Lazio and Roma respectively. Meanwhile there was violence when Anderlecht visited Donostia-San Sebastian too.
The Club is making public these sanctions, which are detrimental to Athletic (which have been issued by both the RFEF Disciplinary Committee and, in this case, UEFA), with the aim of ensuring that they are not repeated throughout the upcoming 2025/26 season.
It should be noted that, for much of the second half of last season, the fans’ behaviour was exemplary. The support at San Mames was extraordinary, pushing the team in every European knockout tie and carrying them on their shoulders toward Champions League qualification: clear proof that it is possible to support the team to the fullest, with respect and without sanctions.
However, this exemplary behaviour was undermined in recent matches, with renewed incidents that led to the opening of new proceedings.
Tolerance and freedom of expression are values that identify Athletic Club. But all rights entail obligations, and in the case of the fans, they require compliance with current regulations, since failure to comply with them harms the Club of which we are all a part. With respect, any disagreement is legitimate.
Finally, the Club reiterates that it will defend its objective with the same firmness as it has done so far: respect must be one of the fundamental principles of the club’s support, avoiding acts that damage Athletic’s image or cause financial harm to the organization.