UEFA have come in for sizeable criticism amongst Liverpool fans in the past few years. Firstly there was the Athens debacle in which supporters of the Anfield club were branded 'the worst fans in Europe' - a statement which was later revoked by the federation's president Michel Platini.
The scandalous handling of the club's Champions League tie with Atletico Madrid followed suit with the Spanish side told to play their tie against the Reds a few hundred kilometers from their home after being found guilty of racist chanting to Marseille player and supporters at the Vicente Calderon.
However, despite their previous failings, European football's governing body should be commended for their handling of the incident which saw Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard pelted with missiles as he took a corner in the first half.
UEFA are investigating the incident and have praised Gerrard for his restraint as missiles were fired from the visitors' section at him.
This appears to be due to a possible change in attitudes at their Swiss headquarters where it was previously thought that all English clubs were the scorn of European football given the examples set in Athens last year and Moscow this May.
Perhaps UEFA have realised that Marseille fans were quite self-righteous to be bleating about racist chanting by Atleti supporters when they themselves are not holier than thou.
Maybe the alleged monkey chanting was more a reference to the behaviour of Marseille's support rather than it was to ethnicity.
The general perception of Marseille fans from Liverpool supporters who visited the Stade Velodrome as well as that of neutral visitors to the French port is that the club's support is highly-strung and hooligan-like.
As much as Platini is despised amongst Liverpool's support following the cock-ups that have occurred during his time as president of UEFA, credit should be given to him and his federation for taking the initiative to clamp down on anti-social behaviour in the game.
Throwing coins is an act that cannot be defended in any way, shape or form. Similarly with the players who retalliate by throwing coins back into the ground, as Didier Drogba did to Burnley supporters recently, are not exempt from scrutiny.
There can be a certain degree of sympathy with the players who do react to having objects fired at them however, despite n the hostile atmospheres that players find themselves in, they are role models who have to maintain a certain degree of professionalism in their job.
Whilst UEFA have credited Gerrard for his composure in what was an uncomfortable situation for the Liverpool captain, UEFA themselves should be credited for enforcing their Fair Play scheme by clamping down on such idiotic behaviour despite their previous mistakes.
