Russia, Spain fined for fans' racism

WARSAW, Poland (AP)

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UEFA fined the Russian and Spanish football associations a total of $62,000 on Thursday for racist abuse by their fans at European Championship matches.

UEFA said its disciplinary panel found both countries guilty of ''improper conduct of its fans (racist behavior, racist chanting).''

Russia was fined $37,000 and Spain must pay $25,000.

Russian fans made monkey noises at Czech Republic defender Theodor Gebre Selassie and Spain fans targeted abuse at Italy forward Mario Balotelli. Both players are black.

The Russian sanction does not activate UEFA's threat of a six-point penalty in Euro 2016 qualifying after some fans attacked stadium stewards in Wroclaw following the Czech match on June 8.

Spain's $25,000 penalty was the minimum that must be enforced for a racism charge under UEFA's disciplinary rules.

In an earlier racism case, UEFA fined the Croatia football association $100,000 for a range of charges including monkey noises directed at Balotelli.

UEFA pledged a zero-tolerance policy toward racism and discrimination inside Euro 2012 stadiums, and appointed experts in fan culture from the European supporters' network, FARE, to identify potential offenses.

Russia has been fined $267,000 by UEFA after being charged over its fans' conduct at all three of its group-stage matches in Poland.