UEFA relaxes Denmark stadium punishment after fan attack

COPENHAGEN, June 12 (Reuters) UEFA has relaxed the punishment it handed out to Denmark over the staging of future Euro 2008 home matches after a drunken fan attacked a referee in their qualifier against Sweden earlier this month.

The June 2 Group F match was abandoned in the 89th minute with the score tied at 3-3 in Copenhagen, when the fan attempted to confront the official after he awarded a penalty to the visitors.

Last week, UEFA handed Sweden a 3-0 victory, fined the Danish Football Association (DBU) 80,840 dollars and ordered Denmark to play their next four home qualifiers at least 250 km away from the capital, the first in an empty stadium.

The DBU, however, has successfully appealed the venue decision as too harsh, after arguing there were no stadiums appropriate for international matches that met the distance requirement in the small Nordic country.

''Should one of the potential stadiums be located at a distance a little less than indicated in the decision, UEFA would approve this stadium, as long as it meets security requirements,'' UEFA told the DBU in a letter.

Danish media speculated that the qualifiers could be played in Aarhus, 160 km away from Copenhagen.

REUTERS BJR KN1425