UEFA charged Valencia, Inter Milan and five players on Wednesday over the brawl that left one player with a broken nose after a Champions League match.

In a statement on its website Wednesday, UEFA said both clubs would be charged with "improper conduct, relating to the actions of their respective teams."

Inter Milan's Nicolas Burdisso, right, and Valencia's Hugo Viana start fighting after Tuesday's game in Spain.
(JAVIER SORIANO/AFP/Getty Images)

Valencia's Carlos Marchena and David Navarro and Inter's Ivan Cordoba, Maicon and Nicolas Burdisso, the player whose nose was broken, will be charged with "gross unsporting conduct."

UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Body will now decide on the case on March 14, eight days earlier than the soccer body had said in a previous announcement Wednesday.

"We hope the sanctions will be minimal," Valencia coach Quique Sanchez Flores said. "The tension of football generates these situations and affects our good sense."

The fighting broke out after the 0-0 draw at the Mestalla Stadium on Tuesday, a result which put Valencia into the quarter-finals on the away-goals rule after the 2-2 draw in the first leg in Milan two weeks ago.

As the final whistle blew, midfielder Burdisso attacked defender Marchena, sparking the brawl. Valencia's unused substitute Navarro then charged onto the field and punched Burdisso. Inter's Julio Ricardo Cruz, Cordoba, and Maicon then aimed kicks at Navarro as he ran away.

"I was arguing with another player," Burdisso told Italian news agency ANSA on his return to Milan on Wednesday. "Approaching me from behind isn't manly."

Burdisso did not reveal what sparked his tussle with Marchena, other than "normal things that are said on the field and nothing more."

Inter coach Roberto Mancini said Burdisso sustained a broken nose from Navarro's punch.

Navarro said he would travel to Italy to apologize to Burdisso in person if necessary.

"I saw that they were trying to attack a teammate, and I lost my nerve," Navarro said. "I have never behaved in this fashion before, and I will never do it again. I am very sorry and ashamed."

The melee continued in the stadium tunnel. Several Inter players — including Cruz and Esteban Cambiasso — had to be restrained by stadium security and the Spanish Civil Guard from entering the Valencia dressing room after Inter substitute goalkeeper Francesco Toldo did so.

Inter manager Roberto Mancini called Navarro "a coward."

"There's nothing else you can say about someone who throws a punch like that then runs away," Mancini said. "But it was the Valencia players who went out to strike Burdisso. Everyone just went crazy."

Inter president Massimo Moratti said he would not take the matter any further.

"The UEFA delegate will do what he has to do," he said.

Six yellow cards were given out in the tense match and both teams made hard challenges in the final minutes, leading to the late pushing.