The week in UEFA
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Article summary
As part of its concerted anti-racism campaign, UEFA is using Matchday 3 of the UEFA Champions League to make a stand.
Article body
UEFA supports FARE Action Week
Each team will be accompanied on to the pitch by children wearing 'Unite Against Racism' T-shirts, and tannoy announcements will be made before each match. For its Action Week, the FARE network is co-ordinating activities that will involve supporters groups, football clubs from 35 countries, national associations, community and migrant organisations, anti-discrimination initiatives and schools.
• Out-of-competition doping controls
UEFA is undertaking out-of-competition doping controls for the first time in this season's UEFA Champions League. The move - whereby any player can be tested outside of the regular random post-match testing - is part of UEFA's reinforcement of its anti-doping activities.
These campaigns have seen an increase in the number of drug tests in its competitions, greater financial outlay in the sector, the creation of an anti-doping unit within the UEFA administration, as well as an expert anti-doping panel and an education programme aimed at the broad spectrum of the European football community.
• Opening action draws big crowds
The UEFA Champions League remains a top-draw attraction, with some excellent attendances recorded on the opening two Matchdays. A total of 513,066 fans watched the action on Matchday 1, with many stadiums packed either to full, or almost full capacity. A sell-out at the Stade Gerland (40,309) watched Olympique Lyonnais defeat Real Madrid CF, while Werder Bremen's Weserstadion was 99 per cent full (37,001) for the visit of FC Barcelona.
Two capacity crowds were registered in Germany on Matchday 2 - at the Fussball Arena München (66,000) for the FC Bayern München-Club Brugge KV encounter, and at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen (53,993) for the match between FC Schalke 04 and AC Milan. Old Trafford was 99 per cent full (66,112) for Manchester United FC's match with SL Benfica. Swiss side FC Thun's first home game at the nearby Stade de Suisse in Berne brought a 30,783 crowd (98 per cent of capacity) for the visit of AC Sparta Praha. A total of 634,335 fans attended games on Matchday 2.