Why is England vs Croatia being played behind closed doors?

Tony Mogan12 October 2018

England take on Croatia for the first time since their World Cup semi-final heartbreak on Friday evening.

Gareth Southgate’s side travel to the Stadion HNK Rijeka looking to bounce back after losing their opening Uefa Nations League match to Spain in September.

The England boss has named an exciting young squad for the trip which includes Borussia Dortmund starlet Jadon Sancho.

But their first away match in the competition is to be played behind closed doors.

In Pictures | England vs Switzerland | 11/09/2018

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Why is the match being played behind closed doors?

The ban on supporters attending is part of a punishment handed down to Croatia after a swastika was marked onto the pitch before a Euro 2016 qualifier against Italy back in June 2015.

Croatia were ordered to play their next two matches in an empty stadium as a result in an incident which the Croatian Football Federation described as “sabotage and a felony.”

They were also fined €100,000 after the incident and docked one point from their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign.

A swastika was marked on the turf in match against Italy in 2015.
(ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP/Getty Images)

Why is it taking place so long after the original incident happened?

Croatia carried out the first of the two-match ban in a qualifying match against Bulgaria in October 2015.

They have not played in any Uefa-sanctioned home matches since then, however.

England are the first team to visit the World Cup runners up in a Uefa competition since the Bulgaria match.

In Pictures | England vs Croatia, World Cup semi-final | 11/07/2018

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Have Croatia been forced to play games behind closed doors before?

In addition to the Bulgaria game, Croatia’s match against Italy where the swastika incident took place was itself played in an empty stadium after racist chanting was heard from home fans at the Maksimir Stadion in a qualifier against Norway in March 2015.

That match against Norway was played with a part-stadium closure after the Croatian Football Federation were sanctioned for the chaotic scenes in the November 2014 qualifier away to Italy, where flares with thrown on the pitch by visiting supporters in Milan.

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