UEFA have opened disciplinary proceedings against Hammarby IF after Manchester City forward Khadija Shaw was struck by an object thrown from the stands during their Champions League game on Thursday night.
The incident took place during the first half in Stockholm right after Shaw opened the scoring in the 31st minute with a deflected shot. The 27-year-old proceeded to celebrate in front of home supporters at the Tele2 Arena, where a record Swedish crowd for a women’s game was in attendance.
Replays showed Shaw flinch at what appeared to be an object. She was led away by her City team-mates before receiving a yellow card from referee Silvia Gasperotti.
A social media post from Women’s Champions League broadcaster DAZN suggested Shaw had “antagonized” the home fans for the celebration.
Captain Alex Greenwood replied: “CORRECTION. Travel to Stockholm score a big goal. CELEBRATES her goal. GETS OBJECTS THROWN AT HER. Gets stick from the home fans. Gets a yellow card. Celebrate with your team mates. Qualified for quarter final. What else are you gonna do on a Thursday?”
CORRECTION. Travel to Stockholm score a big goal. CELEBRATES her goal. GETS OBJECTS THROWN AT HER. Gets stick from the home fans. Gets a yellow card 🙃. Celebrate with your team mates. Qualified for quarter final. What else are you gonna do on a Thursday?
— Alex Greenwood (@AlexGreenwood) November 21, 2024
UEFA have now confirmed they have opened proceedings against the Swedish side over a potential breach of the governing body’s disciplinary regulations.
The “throwing of objects potentially endangering the physical integrity of others” could see Hammarby fined if found guilty.
Ellen Wangerheim equalised for the hosts three minutes into the second half before Shaw scored her second to clinch City’s place in the last eight.
“It’s a good feeling,” Shaw told City’s website. “It was a difficult game tonight, but we managed to get the job done.
“It was a very difficult game tonight. The atmosphere and the pitch — it was our first time playing on astro-turf so it took us a while to get going.
“Once we did, we tried to execute what we know we’re good at. Some parts we could’ve tidied up on but at the end of the day the most important thing is qualifying and that’s what we’ve done.
“We have the experience and quality in the team and we’re used to these atmospheres.”
City qualified for the knockout stages of the competition with two games to spare having beaten reigning champions Barcelona earlier in the group stage.
(Claudio Bresciani/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images)
