Three security guards at Chelsea have been suspended over claims they damaged the Champions League trophy. The three men "allegedly snuck into the club after hours" to take pictures with the trophy. The next day, a colleague noticed "one of the handles was hanging off." Chelsea has confirmed the after hours visit was unauthorised and "a probe has been launched" (THE SUN, 6/19).
ARRESTS PILE UP: The AFP reported that the Polish police have arrested 515 people, including 153 foreigners, since the start of Euro 2012. Interior Minister Jacek Cichocki said, "Compared to the number of people who watched the matches, the number of individuals detained for incidents is really very minimal." More than 2.5 million people have been present in stadiums or fan zones so far (AFP, 6/19).
UEFA CHARGES: The BBC reported that UEFA has started disciplinary proceedings against the German Football Association over the "improper conduct" of fans in their 2-1 victory over Denmark. Germany has been charged "over fans letting off fireworks and the displaying of inappropriate banners and symbols, and inappropriate chanting." The anti-discrimination group FARE reported seeing "a neo-Nazi banner in the Germany section" (BBC, 6/19). UEFA has also fined the Croatian Football Federation €80,000 ($101,500) for the setting-off and throwing of fireworks, and the improper conduct of supporters, which included racist chants and racist symbols during their group C match against Italy on Thursday (UEFA).
BIG SPENDERS: Segunda División A Villarreal FC will reduce its team budget by €30M ($38M) for the '12-13 season, after being relegated from Spain's top division last season. Despite this "huge reduction in spending," they will still have the largest budget in the league (EFE, 6/18).
