UEFA bars Lens fans from Leipzig and Anfield trips and fines club €80,000

RC Lens supporters cannot buy tickets for their club's Champions League visits to RB Leipzig on 24 November and Liverpool on 27 January, under a ruling by UEFA's appeals judges announced on Tuesday. The French club were also fined €80,000 over pyrotechnics and damage, and a third away ban hangs over them, suspended for a two-year probationary period.

The case goes back to the 3-0 defeat at Club Brugge on 21 October. Early in the second half, fans in the away section set off flares and threw some towards the pitch and rival supporters; referee Luis Godinho stopped play for a few minutes and a steward was injured. According to the club, UEFA's report counted 132 devices. Lens were already on a suspended away ban after flares and fireworks during their 3-2 win at Slavia Prague in September, and that ban has now been activated.

The club made its own decision public on Wednesday. In a statement saying a red line had been crossed, Lens said they had told supporters' groups on Monday that they will not open the away section for Friday's Ligue 1 derby at Lille, a step meant both to punish and to prevent. The club also said it will file complaints against named individuals where it can and will refuse entry to anyone whose face is hidden under a balaclava.

In the Champions League league phase, Lens are 27th of 36 with 3 points from three games and a goal difference of -4. Leipzig sit 30th on the same total, while Liverpool are third with three wins from three.