Borussia Dortmund took down two opponents on Tuesday during the Champions League as the players on the field destroyed Celtic 7-1 and the fans in the stands blasted UEFA with a strong message.
Prior to the game Dortmund fans made their voices heard with a massive tifo and banner denouncing the new Champions League format being used this season.
UEFA expanded the competition from 32 teams to 36 and got rid of the six-game group stage, replacing it with a league table. Each club will now play eight games in the initial phase.
Tuesday marked Dortmund’s first game at home since the revamped format. A large banner calling out “UEFA Mafia” argued the federation only cares about money during the Champions League anthem. Fans also booed the anthem.
Dortmund fans UEFA Mafia banner
Borussia Dortmund fans with huge tifo saying "UEFA MAFIA"
The bottom bit says "You don’t care about the sport - all you care about is money!" (@berger_pj) pic.twitter.com/RQB52AlpZJ— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) October 1, 2024
L'animation "UEFA MAFIA" de Dortmund et le craquage du parcage du Celtic #BVB #BVBCELTIC #UCL ( @EdwinvanS)pic.twitter.com/ZRgo36K9BZ
— Stadium Traveller (@Stadium_Tr) October 1, 2024
“You don’t care about the sport — All you care about is money!”
A brutal message to those in charge.
Tuesday and Wednesday are Matchday 2 of 8 and fans are still unsure about the new format. With more games it’s hard to tell how each team is performing.
Teams finishing 1 through 8 will receive an automatic ticket to the Round of 16 while places 9-24 will compete in a playoff to reach the last 16.
It’s too early to tell how a team should react to a week two result with so many games to go. Adjusting to this new format from the previous group stage hasn’t been easy.
Dortmund sit stop of the table thanks to their 7-1 thrashing which saw a hat trick from Karim Adeyemi.
