Fans who ran onto the field during the 2026 World Cup qualifier match between Uzbekistan and Hong Kong have been held accountable, as reported by the press service of the Tashkent City Police Department.
The incident took place on March 26 at the Bunyodkor Stadium in the capital city. After the final whistle, nine fans ran onto the field.
Six of them were minors, so their parents were also held accountable and fined. Two of them were sentenced to 5 days in detention under Articles 183 (petty hooliganism) and 194 (failure to comply with the lawful demands of a law enforcement officer) of the Code of Administrative Offenses.
The arrested individuals apologized to the people of Uzbekistan for their misconduct.
The head of the press service of the Uzbekistan Football Association and commentator Davron Fayziev noted that the match went well with the support of 30,000 fans, but a group of fans caused damage to all the preparatory work and the activities of law enforcement agencies responsible for order at the stadium.
According to him, the Asian Football Confederation fined the Football Association for this incident, which could also affect Uzbekistan's ability to host major international tournaments.
Technical expert at the Football Association of Qatar and the Asian Football Confederation, Alisher Nikimbaev, believes that the Security Service of the Uzbekistan Football Association "should remember its direct responsibilities and start ensuring security at national team matches."
"It is necessary to toughen penalties for running onto the field: make clubs and the Association pay fines, and ban attendance at matches for a certain period (although the latter is hardly technically feasible at the moment)," he wrote.
