Austrian Bundesliga top club LASK, have been docked 12 points and fined a massive €75,000 for not observing social distancing during training ahead of the proposed top-flight restart on June 2.
According to the Bundesliga, Lask disobeyed coronavirus-related safety rules in practice sessions after the club admitted to staging full contact training sessions even when the Austrian FA told clubs they were only allowed to train in small groups to avoid the spread of Coronavirus.
The event which happened early this month, caused uproar among the remaining 11 Bundesliga clubs who said the current league leaders were benefiting from an unfair advantage in terms of match fitness, and now Austrian Football authorities have confirmed that the club have been hit with a points deduction and a fine of €75,000.
The club have released an official statement confirming their plans to appeal the decision, which reads: “We received the verdict of the Senate 1 orally this afternoon. After evaluating the present decision, we agreed to call the protest committee of the Bundesliga as a second-instance body.
“Specifically, we consider the sanctions expressed in the judgment to be a deduction of 12 points before the division of points and the € 75,000 penalty payment is disproportionate.
“We have therefore exercised our right and immediately protested the excessive judgment.”
Following the points deduction, LASK have dropped to second in the Bundesliga standings, three points behind reigning champions and arch-rivals Red Bull Salzburg.
