Score! UEFA Agrees That Animal Slaughter Has NO Place in Football

UEFA has taken action to keep football beautiful today by speaking out against the slaughter of a sheep by FC Shakhter Karagandy in a cruel pre-match ritual. Just days after we sent a letter to the UEFA president urging him to take a strong stance against violence towards animals, UEFA has unequivocally condemned the bloodshed!

Here’s UEFA’s sternly worded letter to the Kazakh side:

We were informed that an animal slaughter took place at some point prior to the UEFA Champions League fixture involving FC Shakhter Karagandy and Celtic FC at the Astana Arena on Tuesday 20 August 2013.

Although certain practices may be culturally rooted, they have no place in or around a sporting arena or event. In this context, I would like to make you aware that animal slaughter on a football pitch or in a stadium before, during or after a UEFA competition match – or with reference to a UEFA competition – is totally improper, and will be not tolerated.

In case of re-occurrence, it will inevitably lead to a full investigation by our disciplinary bodies.

Thank you to UEFA for making it clear that there is nothing sporting about hurting and killing animals. Far from being “lucky”, any team that contemplate slaughtering sheep is scoring an own goal, as they’re likely to end up in an ignominious disciplinary hearing.