News: Real Madrid face tough sanctions from UEFA - including expulsion from the Champions League - following the racist chanting which marred Tuesday night's Champions League clash with Bayer Leverkusen at the Bernabeu.

Although the level of abuse was not comparable to that evident in the Spain-England international friendly at the same venue last week, there were still audible chants aimed at Leverkusen's black central defender Roque Junior.

Television cameras also picked out a few Madrid supporters, a far right-wing grouping known as the "Ultra Sur", making Nazi salutes.

In a statement, the clubs said: "Real Madrid would like to make it clear that, if during the Champions League game, incidents did take place, they were carried out by such a small minority that no one on the field was aware of them.

"Even so, Real Madrid, have no hesitation in condemning actions of this type and this is why we were the first club in Spain to condemn and criticise the incidents of this type which took place in the match between Spain and England.

"Last night, UEFA president Lennart Johansson and other representatives of UEFA were at the game and were able to see the correct behaviour of the public."

Earlier, UEFA warned Madrid could be handed a stiff penalty for the actions of their supporters.

UEFA spokesman William Gaillard said: "The punishment will depend on the gravity of the matter - whether it was the whole stadium or whether it was a small group of people.

"It could range from banning the stadium and making the team play away from their stadium or behind closed doors, to even the exclusion of the team."

England striker Michael Owen, who played in the friendly international last week but was left out for Madrid's Champions League clash, was upset by the chanting he heard at the Bernabeu.

"It's a bit disappointing to hear that," Owen said. "There's been a lot of talk about it over the last week and it's always difficult to hear that.

"We've done really well in England to stamp it out and there are pockets in Europe that can't stamp it out." he told Sky Sports.

Meanwhile, Spain's Anti-Violence Commission have delayed a decision on whether to punish national coach Luis Aragones until the country's football federation have named a new president.

Aragones was summoned to a meeting with the Comision Nacional Antiviolencia yesterday to explain his comments about Britain's colonial past on the eve of the recent friendly match between Spain and England.

The game itself was overshadowed by racist abuse directed towards England players Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ashley Cole - behaviour which Aragones refused to condemn.

It is thought that the commission is waiting to see if the president - whose identity will become clear after tomorrow's elections - will take action against Aragones.

After coming out of the meeting yesterday, the commission's president Rafael Blanco said: "The federation have to decide what they're going to do and the commission will ratify or modify what that organisation decides.

"Aragones' remarks were inappropriate, in their basis, and in their timing. However, the problem cannot be centred on those remarks. The blame for racism and intolerance in football is not down to the coach it is a question of greater depth and has other causes."

Blanco also referred to "certain neo-Nazi and xenophobic groups" which seem to have shown up at recent big matches.

"We hope that after these declarations we are all going to go in the same direction.

"I don't think anybody is in favour of violence in sport nor this kind of behaviour (racist chanting)," he concluded.

Liverpool received the news they had been dreading, if expecting, last night as Luis Garcia was ruled out for up to a month with a torn hamstring.

His absence leaves manager Rafael Benitez's side effectively entering the pre-Christmas programme shorn of any potency up front.

Garcia pulled up within two minutes of the start of Tuesday's controversial defeat in Monaco and was taken off on a stretcher.

His replacement and fellow Spaniard, Josemi, departed in the same fashion before the end requiring 20 stitches in a head wound, though he is suspended for Sunday's visit of Arsenal.

Djimi Traore will also miss up to 10 days after suffering knee ligament damage on Tuesday night.

Benitez, already without the crocked Milan Baros and Djibril Cisse, begins Sunday's match with his charges 11 points behind the champions