Vetra to play Rovers after Warsaw expelled
Footage showed flares being thrown onto the pitch by Legia fans
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Wednesday, 11, Jul 2007 02:59
Legia Warsaw have been expelled from this season's Intertoto Cup after crowd trouble, meaning Blackburn Rovers will play Lithuanian side FK Vetra in the next round.
The Polish club have also been banned from taking their place in European competition for one further season, should they qualify within the next five years.
They have also been ordered to pay compensation to their hosts for damage to the stadium.
Legia's travelling supporters began throwing "a considerable number" of missiles onto the pitch at half-time, with their side losing 2-0.
Uefa also condemned the "ugly and shocking" scenes that came about after local police moved in to restore order, which eventually resulted in the match being abandoned.
The result was awarded to Vetra as a 3-0 win, meaning the Lithuanians progress to the third round of the competition where the winners of the two-legged tie against Mark Hughes' men will go through to the second qualifying round for the 2007/08 Uefa Cup.
In a statement, the Uefa control and disciplinary body said that while Legia "had done much to curb hooliganism in the past three years" there remained "an obvious problem with Legia supporters at away matches on the continent".
"Legia must react quickly and firmly if the club wishes to participate in Uefa competition in future," the statement continued.
"With Legia's considerable disciplinary record for away matches, the duty of playing matches against Legia becomes a tall order that Uefa cannot afford to support any longer."
The Polish club have three days to lodge an appeal against the decision.