Barcelona has taken advantage of its trip to Tbilisi, Georgia for the UEFA Super Cup to address the €30,000 ($33,500) fine imposed by UEFA for fans "displaying pro-Catalonia political banners" at the Champions League final vs. Juventus on June 6. Club execs, led by President Josep Maria Bartomeu, met with UEFA President Michel Platini and other UEFA execs. UEFA "thanked Barcelona for its willingness to approach the matter with dialogue and not from the courts," and both organizations will remain in contact (MARCA, 8/12). ... Costa Rica coach Paulo Wanchope "became involved in a brawl with an identified person during an Olympic qualifier against Panama on Tuesday night." Wanchope, who was observing the match between the respective countries' U23 teams, "was shown in video footage to retaliate after being pushed by the man." Footage showed that Wanchope "was pushed from behind." He turned around and pushed the fan back. The man "kicked the coach in the thigh and then threw some punches at
him, while Wanchope tried to wrestle him onto some plastic seats" (REUTERS, 8/12). ... Bulgarian club Lokomotiv Plovdiv is considering whether to quit the Bulgarian league after the Bulgarian Football Union fined the club $21,224 on Tuesday for its fans' racist behavior during the match against Litex Lovech. The BFU said that Lokomotiv fans made "racial and discriminatory slurs during the 1-1 draw against leaders Litex." Lokomotiv, however, categorically denied any wrongdoing and said it is "considering quitting the league," keeping only its youth teams (REUTERS, 8/11).
