Valencia ´pleased´ with RFEF bottle ruling

Valencia chairwoman Layhoon Chan says she is “pleased” with the Royal Spanish Football Federation’s (RFEF) ruling in relation to Saturday’s bottle-throwing incident and has urged the club to move on from the episode.

The RFEF fined Valencia €1,500 on Wednesday after Barca forward Neymar was struck by a missile thrown from the stands during the LaLiga match at the Mestalla, which ended in a 3-2 win for the visitors.

Lionel Messi scored a late penalty to secure victory for Luis Enrique’s side, but Neymar was hit by an object thrown by a spectator that then ricocheted onto Luis Suarez during the subsequent celebrations.

The RFEF ruled that Valencia must pay a fine and warned it could face “closure of its facilities in the event of… similar incidents that have led to this punishment”.

Barca reacted angrily to suggestions of wrongdoing on the part of their own players, but Valencia have accepted the Competition Committee’s decision, which took into account safety measures put in place by the club.

“We are pleased with the decision by the Competition Committee and the club understand that Valencia CF’s efforts to eliminate any violent behaviour, and quick identification of the thrower of the bottle, have been appreciated,” Chan told the club’s official website.

“I am not one to tell any other club how their players should behave, but we try to ensure that our players show discipline and the values established by the club.

“The behaviour of almost all fans at Mestalla was not only correct, but passionately positive for our team, and there was an atmosphere befitting the game.

“We must move on and focus on the next match against Deportivo La Coruna leaving behind what happened last Saturday.”