Italy given 3-0 win after Genoa riot - Italian FA

Genoa:UEFA awarded Italy a 3-0 win and told Serbia they must play at least one match behind closed doors following the riot at a Euro 2012 qualifier in Genoa, Italy`s FA said on Friday.

A UEFA spokeswoman said the verdicts were not official but the Italian FA issued a statement outlining the measures UEFA`s disciplinary committee had taken. Serbia`s one-match crowd ban comes with the suspended threat of a second game. Italy were also hit with a suspended sentence of one game behind closed doors after crowd violence forced the abandonment of the game on Oct. 12. Media reports also said fines were part of the verdict. The match in Genoa was abandoned after six minutes when masked Serbian fans threw flares on to the pitch and at Italian supporters having climbed up a perimeter fence and cut a hole in netting meant to prevent objects being thrown. The kick-off had already been delayed for 35 minutes due to crowd trouble, which followed Serbia goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic pulling out of the game having been threatened by his own fans because of a domestic club dispute. Away fans, who had made political gestures in the ground and tried to smash a perspex barrier to get into the home end, also clashed with police after the abandonment and there were 17 arrests. The Serbian Football Association criticised Italian policing and asked for a replay while their Italian counterparts said it was for UEFA to decide on the issue while admitting there was a breakdown in intelligence between the two nations. Italian officials said they were not aware that Serbia fans posed a risk despite a long history of hooliganism there. UEFA`s disciplinary committee heard from the referee and delegations from both countries before deciding on sanctions which could have ranged from a slap on the wrist to being kicked out of the competition. Both associations have three days to appeal. "If we had intervened, we risked a catastrophe," Italian soccer federation director general Antonello Valentini told reporters in Nyon when asked why riot police had not entered the away end. "We will await the reasons for the verdict before deciding on a possible appeal." Bureau Report