Russian Fans Cost National Soccer Association a Cool 150K (VIDEO)

Whoever said crime doesn't pay had to be someone on the wrong side of the transaction. What Russian fans did to some of the stadium personnel during last week's Russia/Czech Republic match was a crime, and the UEFA is getting paid for it.

The European governing body for the popular sport, the UEFA, said that the Russian soccer association would be punished for the actions of its fans and that punishment has now been handed down.

Russian fans have cost there association a $150,000 in the form of a fine, and could make it harder for the team to make the next tournament. Should there be another incident like there was last Friday the team will be docked six points during qualifying for the next Euro Championship.

Stewards were trying to remove a person suspected of throwing fireworks during the match. The fans resisted and proceeded to beat the stewards sending four to the hospital (no serious injuries). Some fans had also been displaying discriminatory flags.

Russia outplayed the Czech team en route to a 4-1 win. Who knows what would have happened if they had been playing bad!

The UEFA has also charged the Russian association for violence that occurred in Warsaw when the Russian team played Poland. Those charges will be considered separate from the ones that cost the team $150,000, and will not trigger the six-point deduction.

Hmmm…maybe the NFL and other professional sports leagues need to start laying down some fines whenever fans act like fools. If that doesn't discourage idiots from starting fights and shooting people during and after games, maybe it will at least encourage others to stop them before things get too far.