Georgia to play match behind closed doors

Georgia will have to play a match behind closed doors following the knife thrown on to the pitch during the Republic of Ireland’s visit to Tbilisi.

UEFA ordered the punishment today in response to crowd trouble at the match which saw a number of missiles hurled from the stands and Irish midfielder Kevin Kilbane hit by a pen-knife.

The penalty will apply to Georgia’s Euro 2004 qualifier against neighbours Russia on April 30 which was expected to be a tense affair anyway, although the GFF have until midnight on Friday to appeal against punishment.