Why Atletico Madrid can’t expel ultra group Frente Atletico from stadium

The Madrid derby was in the global headlines for the wrong reasons on Sunday night, after it was halted for 15 minutes due to objects being repeatedly thrown on the pitch in the direction of Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois. Atletico manager Diego Simeone asked for those fans not to be allowed back in, although did also ask for punishment for Courtois for goading the home support.

One of the fans responsible has been identified and banned for life by the club, while Marca report that 17 separate chants from the stands have been reported to the Anti-Violence Committee, 15 of which were from Atletico fans. Those included the likes of ‘Courtois, di*’ and ‘Madridistas, sons of b*****’, the latter being returned in kind from the Real Madrid fans.

The Anti-Violence Committee are also examining the images from the game regarding the throwing of the objects, and the message is that there will be severe sanctions for those involved.

🚨🇪🇸 Koke: “Courtois? Players need to be more intelligent. There was a lot of tension. This kind of thing shouldn’t happen in a stadium again. We’re professionals, and we need to know where we are and be smart. We can’t let a few harm all of our fans.”

CAPITAN! @Koke6 👏 pic.twitter.com/KzwnmJSPiI

— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) September 29, 2024

All of the object-throwing incidents came from the South Stand, where the Atletico standing section is and their ultras traditionally are placed. In amongst them are the radical far-right group Frente Atletico, which are in part responsible for Nazi salutes seen during the game too. Many have called on Los Rojiblancos to expel the Frente Atletico, as Barcelona did with their neo-nazi fan group Boixos Nois and Real Madrid with their Ultras Sur.

However the same outlet say that the club have explained they are powerless to take the same action. There are laws that prevent the expulsion of thousands of individual members without previous incidents to their name. The club also do not recognise Frente Atletico as a group, nor are they a supporters club that can be easily identified.

Those in the offices at the Metropolitano are aware of the radical elements in amongst the South Stand [Fondo Sur], but also note that there are many more that do not belong to that side of things. The fans that do commit crimes or break regulations and are identified can be chucked out, but Atletico cannot act en masse.

There is of course a logic to this, but to a certain extent, Atletico Madrid clearly are not doing enough to root out what is becoming a consistent issue, following on from incidents of racial abuse. Ultimately it is their duty to ensure that opposition players can go to work without fear for their safety, be it physical or against verbal attacks.