THE Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) today fined Atletico Madrid 600 euros ($822) after Real Madridâs Cristiano Ronaldo was struck on the head with a lighter during the clubsâ Copa del Rey clash on Tuesday.
Ballon dâOr winner Ronaldo was hit by a lighter thrown from the crowd as he made his way off the field at halftime in the semifinal second leg clash, which Madrid won 2-0 to advance 5-0 on aggregate to a final against Barcelona.
Pro-Real media in the Spanish capital had called for serious action to be taken following the incident, but the RFEF said its âisolated natureâ prevented them from handing down more than the small fine.
âAs this was an isolated incident, in which the object that was used is not banned from sporting arenas and, fortunately, did not cause any damage or injury to the player who was struck, or interrupt the game, the incident merits a sanction to the host club of a 600-euro fine,â said a statement released by the RFEF.
They added the fine would have been just half that amount had Atletico identified the culprit.
