Racing Santander fined €301 after lighter thrown during Real Madrid match

Racing Santander have been fined €301 by the Spanish Football Federation’s disciplinary committee after a fan threw a lighter from the stands during their match against Real Madrid last Sunday.

The incident occurred after referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero had reviewed a possible handball by Aurelien Tchouameni inside the penalty area using the video assistant referee system. He ultimately decided not to award a penalty.

The Spanish refereeing technical committee had previously acknowledged that an incorrect penalty had been awarded to Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe during the match against Racing Santander.

Munuera Montero included the lighter-throwing incident in his official report.

“At the 78th minute, the first stage of the protocol for objects being thrown was activated because a lighter was thrown from the stands,” he wrote. “It landed near the second assistant referee without hitting him.”

The first stage of the protocol involves issuing a warning to supporters over the stadium’s public-address system.

The disciplinary committee ruled that Racing Santander had committed a “minor breach of order during the match”. It imposed the minimum fine within the medium category, taking the circumstances of the incident into account.

The decision was based on Article 117 of the federation’s regulations, which covers minor breaches of order during matches.

The article states: “When, in connection with the staging of a match, incidents occur that fall within the cases set out in Article 15 of these regulations, and the disciplinary authority classifies them as minor offences, the club responsible will be punished with a fine of up to 602 euros.”

Racing Santander were therefore fined €301, half the maximum amount set out in the regulation.

The penalty relates solely to the spectator’s conduct and the club’s responsibility for maintaining order during the fixture. No information was given about any further sanction for the individual who threw the lighter.