Serbia have threatened to quit the European Championship if UEFA do not impose strict punishment on Croatia and Albania following offensive chants during their clash on Wednesday.
The two nations played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in Hamburg, but the behaviour of their respective has become a major talking point in the hours that have followed.
Both sets of supporters could be heard shouting ‘Kill the Serbs’ during their clash. This understandably has not gone down well with the Serbian FA, who have called on European football’s top governing body to take action.
Serbia were also upset when a Kosovan TV journalist aimed an Albanian ‘eagle’ sign towards their fans during a live broadcast at their opening game against England.
Arlind Sadiku, who reports for the television channel Artmotion, has been banned from the remainder of the tournament for ‘misconduct’.
Serbia have threatened to quit the European Championship if UEFA do not take action against Croatia and Albania for their fan’s chanting
Chants of ‘Kill the Serbs’ could be heard from both sets of supporters during Croatia’s 1-1 draw with Albania
The Serbian FA are angered by the ‘scandalous’ event. Pictured: Serbian FA President Dragan Dzajic (middle right) and General Secretary Jovan Surbatovic (right)
‘What happened is scandalous and we will ask UEFA for sanctions, even at the cost of not continuing the competition,’ Serbian FA General Secretary Jovan Surbatovic said.
‘We are sure that they will be punished, because they have already responded to our appeal to remove the so-called journalist from Albania from the championship.
‘We will request UEFA to punish the federations of both selections. We don’t want to participate in that, but if UEFA doesn’t punish them, we will think about how to proceed.
‘We were punished for the cases of fishing and our fans behaved much better than the others. One fan was fined for racist abuse and we don’t want it to be attributed to others. We Serbs are gentlemen and we have an open heart, so I appeal to the fans to remain gentlemen.’
Animosity from Croatians and Albanian towards Serbs has its modern roots in the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1995.
The first-ever meeting between Croatia and Serbia in 2013 was branded the ‘match of the decade’ by the media in both countries and tickets for the clash at the 34,000 stadium sold out within hours.
Despite there being no away fans present in the stadium, there will be 1,500 police officers patrolling the game in a bid to prevent any outburst of nationalism.
Similarly, when Serbia faced Albania for the first time as independent nations, their Euro 2016 qualifier descended into chaos on the pitch and in the stands – and the arrest of the brother of the Albanian Prime Minister.
Albania forward Bekim Balaj is struck by a chair thrown by a Serbian fan as tensions boiled over during the Euro 2016 qualifying clash
Nemanja Gudelj holds the flag while Albania’s Bekim Balaj and Andi Lila try to protect it
A masked Serbian supporter runs off with the drone that carried the controversial flag as players watch on in the background
UEFA had banned Albania fans from attending the clash in Belgrade but elected to allow the two countries to face each other, despite long-standing political tensions.
And when the Albanian flag – accompanied by a map of Kosovo and the message ‘autochthonous’, meaning indigenous – was flown above the pitch using a remote-operated drone.
Olsi Rama, the brother of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, was arrested in the VIP box for allegedly instigating the stunt, confirmed CNN.
He was arrested on suspicion that he masterminded and executed the incident in which a flag with a map of greater Albania was flown over the pitch and the terraces, after which the match between Serbia and Albania was abandoned,’ Serbian state television said on its official website.
UEFA also launched an inquiry into the violence.
Serbia were eventually awarded a 3-0 victory by UEFA after the game was abandoned, with their FA claiming the their team acted with restraint despite being provoked by the ‘offensive’ flag and were then attacked when they tried to remove it from the field.
In Surbatovic’s statement on Thursday, he also made reference to recent trouble caused by their supporters at the tournament. UEFA charged the Serbian FA with two offences following their defeat by England on Sunday – the throwing of objects and the transmitting of a provocative message ‘unfit for a sports event’.
The latter is understood to relate to the displaying of a flag linked to a paramilitary movement that was engaged in ethnic cleansing during the Yugoslav wars.
