Danish fan huge fine for pitch rush 


A Danish man was yesterday sentenced to pay 1,869,269 kroner (about USD 320,000) in damages to the Danish Football Federation for interrupting a game by rushing the pitch and attacking the referee.
Ronni Noervig, 33, who has been nicknamed the “football idiot” by Danish media, had interrupted a European Championship qualification match between Denmark and neighbouring Sweden on June 2, 2007.
He rushed onto the field with two minutes left of the game tied at 3-3, hitting German referee Herbert Fander in the face after he gave Danish defender Christian Poulsen a red card for punching a Swedish player in the stomach.
Noervig was immediately arrested, and the shaken referee called off the game. European football’s governing body, UEFA, later awarded Sweden a 3-0 victory.
The Appeals Court of Eastern Denmark pointed out that the Danish Football Federation (DBU) had also been blocked by UEFA from playing the two following international games scheduled in the Copenhagen arena, Parken, and had suffered an estimated loss of 2.2 million kroner.
Yesterday’s ruling was far harsher than a 2009 lower court ruling ordering Noervig to pay 900,000 kroner in damages.