Dimayor Hands Down Sanctions: Nacional Gets Its Fans Back, Junior Fined, Bucaramanga Fails to Get Relief for Peirano

Dimayor shook things up again with its latest Sanctions Bulletin, and this time there was a bit of everything: one club catching a break, another paying dearly for chaos in the stands, and a third left without the relief it was hoping for. Colombia's soccer governing body updated three specific cases directly affecting Atletico Nacional, Junior and Bucaramanga.

Junior and Alianza punished over match incidents

The first chapter centers on what happened during the Alianza vs. Junior match. Incidents broke out there, and both clubs ended up sanctioned. Dimayor's ruling was clear: each side must serve one match of partial stadium suspension.

For Junior specifically, the sanction will apply to sections 1 and 2 of the Oriental stand. And that's not all, the club will also have to dig into its pockets, facing a fine of 14,007,240 Colombian pesos on top of the sporting penalty.

The great news Atletico Nacional received

On the other side of the board, things were far brighter for Atletico Nacional. Dimayor gave the green light to end the punishment the club had been carrying for a while now: playing without fans in the Copa BetPlay due to prior incidents.

The club had already served two matches of that sanction, against Tigre and Cali, and that was precisely what allowed the committee to approve a partial suspension of the punishment. In plain terms: the green faithful are heading back to the stands.

What does this mean in practice? That the clasico against Medellin, part of the quarterfinals, can now be played with Nacional fans in attendance. It's still to be determined whether visiting fans will also be allowed, but for Nacional supporters it's already huge news to be able to cheer their team on again in a match of this magnitude.

Bucaramanga didn't get what it wanted for Pablo Peirano

Not everyone got the same break. Bucaramanga tried, just as Nacional had, to get the suspension lifted on its head coach, Pablo Peirano, who was hit with a six-match ban and had been serving it game by game.

The club had already completed three of those matches and was hoping to appeal and wipe out the remaining penalty entirely. The Committee, however, was firm: it has no authority to conditionally suspend that sanction, since the ejection was issued directly by the referee on the field.

As things stand, Peirano will have to serve out his remaining matches with no reduction whatsoever, while Bucaramanga digests the news and keeps a close eye on the rest of the sanctions board.