Football
Associated Press 6y

Nacional punished for fans' Chapecoense plane crash taunts

CONMEBOL have fined Nacional and ordered the Uruguayan club to play their next three games behind closed doors after some supporters mocked the plane crash that killed most of Brazilian squad Chapecoense two years ago.

The disciplinary court of the South American governing body announced the sanction and the $80,000 fine late on Monday.

At least two Nacional fans made gestures with their arms imitating a plane crash during Nacional's 1-0 victory at Chapecoense on Jan. 31 in the first leg of a Copa Libertadores meeting. The Brazilians lost the second leg in Montevideo by the same score and were knocked out of South America's top club competition.

Chapecoense asked CONMEBOL to expel Nacional from the cup, but the request was not granted by the governing body.

Nacional had identified and banned the two fans who made the offensive gestures. Nacional also apologised to the Brazilian club for the actions of the fans mocking the Chapecoense flight that crashed in November 2016 in Colombia, killing 71 people.

Nacional will face Argentina's Banfield in the third and final preliminary stage of the Libertadores before the group stage begins in late February.

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