“Sport Lisboa e Benfica informs that, following the lighting of flares that occurred during the game against Ajax in Amsterdam, the club is prevented by UEFA from selling tickets for the next away game in the Champions League, against Juventus”.

Benfica, who travel to Turin on January 21 for the seventh and penultimate round of the Champions League group stage, also say that a two-year suspended match ban hangs over the club, reminding that any new incident related to pyrotechnics, at the Estádio da Luz or away, will result in a new ban.

"This will result in a new ban on ticket sales for away matches and a possible ban on access to certain sectors at home games," the club warned in a statement calling on fans to behave exemplarily.

This is the second time this season that Benfica has been banned from selling tickets for Champions League matches away from home, after the same thing happened in the third qualifying round against Nice, then due to the behavior of fans at Camp Nou in March.

The club had been punished by UEFA in April after its fans set off pyrotechnic devices during the match against FC Barcelona (a 3-1 defeat), in the second leg of the Round of 16 last season, played on March 11th.

After the end of that match, there were further incidents in the area where the vast majority of Benfica fans were located, who were involved in physical confrontations with stadium stewards.

Benfica had already been fined €35,000 by UEFA's Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee (CEDB) for the behaviour of its fans during the reception for the Catalan team, also for setting off pyrotechnics, but at the Estádio da Luz, in the first leg, which FC Barcelona won 1-0, on March 5th.