It could be said to fail the pants test. The £80,000 sanction handed down to Nicklas Bendtner for breaking ambush marketing rules and displaying his Paddy Power underpants to the world during last summer's European Championship has become a convenient popular yardstick with which to measure Uefa's priorities.
Again the perception will be that loud and intimidatory monkey chants tumbling down from the stands and a violent mêlée among players and coaches is somehow less important to Uefa than protecting its sponsors.
Anton Ferdinand, the QPR defender who unwittingly found himself at the heart of the torrid convulsions over racism in the English game over the past year, was quick to pick up on the comparison.
He quickly surmised that it was a "joke" that the Serbian FA was hit with a £65,000 fine and the requirement to play one match behind closed doors by Uefa's control and disciplinary body.
The latter will barely register, given that it would have attracted a minimal crowd in any case. As if to add insult to injury, two England players were themselves banned despite what appeared to be extreme restraint in the face of intense provocation.
Lord Ouseley, the Kick It Out chairman, called the punishment a "paltry slap on the wrist".
Ferdinand's brother Rio alighted on the other common immediate reaction – that after calls for the Serbians to be banned or thrown out of competition, a fine was not the sanction many in the game were looking for. "Uefa are not serious at all on racism. Fines do not work at all. They have zero impact on federations/clubs/fans/players," said the Manchester United defender via Twitter.
Reading's striker Jason Roberts said Uefa appears to have "zero interest" in the issue of racism.
Even factoring in suspensions of between two and four games for four players and of two years for two coaches, the punishment does not appear to fit the crime. In light of shocking television footage and amateur YouTube pictures in the wake of the match in Krusevac there was immediately a feeling that this could be a watershed case.
Players, former players and respected anti-racism campaigners lined up to say that Uefa would be judged by its response and urged European football's governing body to take a tough stance. Judging by the widespread incredulity and disappointment, it is a test Uefa has flunked.
Members of the England camp described the scenes as unprecedented and maintain their players kept their cool in the face of extreme provocation. A haul of missiles were recovered from around Jack Butland's goal and Danny Rose spoke after the match of being targeted with monkey chants from the warm-up onwards.
The already febrile atmosphere was heightened by the fact it took place against a backdrop of incidents of on- and off-pitch racism over the past year, leading some to conclude that the FA also needed to get its own house in order if it was to be able to challenge Uefa from a firm platform.
There was a certain irony in the FA's outrage at the leniency of the sentence, given the criticism it has faced for the four-match ban eventually handed to the former England captain John Terry for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand a year earlier.
An exasperated Ouseley this week said that there was a "moral vacuum" at the top of the game and "12 months wasted in hypocrisy" by the FA and top clubs.
There is a similar dynamic at play in Europe but even more starkly drawn. The FA deserves some credit for sticking with the Luis Suárez and Terry cases despite numerous obstacles, even if the ultimate sanctions did not satisfy everyone. In Uefa's case there is the perception that it is going through the regulatory motions rather than engaging with the issue.
Like the FA Uefa will argue that it must treat each case on its merits, that it is handled by a quasi-independent panel, that the rule book must be followed. To which the only rational response is that the rulebook must be revisited, if not ripped up entirely.
For those attempting to work within the tent it is an intensely frustrating experience. For Piara Powar, the director of the organisation that helps Uefa organise its week of action on racism and is wrestling with the complex issues across a disparate continent, the overriding sentiment was disappointment. "This is a moment in which leadership to challenge discrimination is needed from all authorities. This sanction falls short of that objective," said Powar, the executive director of FARE.
Which is another way of saying that television adverts, Respect campaigns, workshops and symposiums are all very well but that actions speak louder than words.
Despite Uefa resolving in 2005 that tackling racism was its "top priority" and promising a "zero-tolerance approach", it has levied a series of derisory fines against a litany of offenders.
Most pertinently, five years ago the Serbian FA was fined £16,500 following misconduct by fans and players after an Under-21 match with England. All point to a systemic failure in Uefa's ability to get to grips with the issue.
No one would claim that facing down racism across a complex continent composed of 53 economically and politically diverse countries at various stages of development is easy. There is undoubtedly a balance to be struck between education and punishment.
But on Thursday Uefa's technocratic statement did not even mention racism once – only the "improper conduct" of players and fans. The overriding impression is of a challenge ducked rather than confronted.
