Euro 2012: Nicklas Bendtner Fined €80,000 More For Showing Sponsored Pants Than Porto Were For Fans' Racism

Bendtner Fined £80,000 More For Dropping Shorts Than Racial Abusers

Nicklas Bendtner has been fined a staggering €100,000 by Uefa for dropping his shorts to display sponsored boxers at Euro 2012 - roughly €80,000 more than FC Porto was fined for their supporters racially abusing Mario Balotelli.

After Bendtner equalised in Denmark's Group B match with Portugal last Wednesday, he dropped his shorts to reveal underwear sponsored by an Irish betting firm.

He was subsequently charged with improper conduct on Friday, since Uefa tournament rules for European Championship bar any sponsor advertising on players' kit.

Yet his six-figure fine is another indication of Uefa's frivolous attitude towards racism in football. Manchester City was fined £25,000 by Uefa for taking a minute longer to take to the field for their second-half Europa League match with Sporting Lisbon, whereas Porto were slapped with a £16,500 punishment after their supporters made monkey noises at Balotelli in February.

Porto hosted City on 16 February during a round-of-32 Europa League clash when the noises were made at the visitors' black players.

Danish forward Nicklas Bendtner celebrat

Bendtner

The European football organisation's history of dealing with the topic has been accused of farce as well.

During a 2004 Spain-England friendly at Real Madrid's Bernabeu Stadium, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Jermain Defoe and Jermaine Jenas were hounded by monkey chants, with the Spanish Federation eventually fined £45,000.

Uefa fined the Serbian football federation £16,500 in 2007 for spectators' racist abuse of England players at the Under-21 European Championship in Holland, while the Croatian FA was fined £10,000 after supporters unveiled a racist banner at the 2008 European Championship against Turkey.

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