Serbia has threatened to pull out of the European Championship if UEFA does not impose strict penalties on Croatia and Albania following offensive chants during their match on Wednesday.
The two countries played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in Hamburg, but the behavior of their respective countries has become a major talking point in the hours that followed.
Both groups of supporters could be heard shouting ‘Kill the Serbs’ during their clash. This has understandably not gone down well with the Serbian Football Association, which has called on European football’s highest governing body to take action.
Serbia were also angered when a Kosovar TV journalist pointed an Albanian ‘eagle’ sign at their fans during a live broadcast of their opening match against England.
Arlind Sadiku, who reports for the television channel Artmotion, has been banned for the remainder of the tournament due to ‘misconduct’.
Serbia have threatened to leave the European Championship if UEFA does not take action against Croatia and Albania over their fans’ chanting
During Croatia’s 1-1 draw against Albania, shouts of ‘Kill the Serbs’ rang out from both groups of supporters.
The Serbian Football Association is angry about the ‘scandalous’ event. Pictured: Serbian FA President Dragan Dzajic (center right) and Secretary General Jovan Surbatovic (right)
“What happened is scandalous and we will ask UEFA for sanctions even if it comes at the cost of not continuing the competition,” Serbian Football Association Secretary General Jovan Surbatovic said.
“We are sure that they will be punished because they have already responded to our call to remove the so-called journalist from Albania from the championship.
‘We will ask UEFA to punish the federations of both selections. We do not want to participate in that, but if UEFA does not punish them, we will think about how to proceed.
‘We were punished for the fishing incidents and our fans behaved much better than the others. One fan was fined for racist abuse and we don’t want this to be blamed on others. We Serbs are gentlemen and we have open hearts, so I appeal to the fans to remain gentlemen.”
The hostility of Croats and Albanians towards Serbs has its origins in the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1995.
The first ever meeting between Croatia and Serbia in 2013 was hailed as the ‘match of the decade’ by the media in both countries and tickets for the match in the 34,000 stadium sold out within hours.
Despite no away fans in the stadium, 1,500 police officers will patrol the match to prevent any outburst of nationalism.
Similarly, when Serbia faced Albania for the first time as an independent nation, their Euro 2016 qualifying match descended into chaos on the pitch and in the stands – and the arrest of the Albanian prime minister’s brother.
Albanian striker Bekim Balaj is hit by a chair thrown by a Serbian fan as tensions ran high during the Euro 2016 qualifying match
Nemanja Gudelj holds the flag while Albanians Bekim Balaj and Andi Lila try to protect him
A masked Serbian supporter makes off with the drone carrying the controversial flag as players watch in the background
UEFA had banned Albanian fans from attending the match in Belgrade, but opted to let the two countries face each other despite longstanding political tensions.
And when the Albanian flag – accompanied by a map of Kosovo and the message ‘autochtoon’, meaning indigenous – was hoisted over the pitch by remote-controlled drone, chaos ensued.
Olsi Rama, the brother of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, was arrested in the VIP box for allegedly instigating the stunt, CNN confirmed.
“He was arrested on suspicion of masterminding and carrying out the incident in which a flag with a map of Greater Albania was hoisted over the field and terraces, after which the match between Serbia and Albania was abandoned,” Serbian state television said. official website.
Serbia were eventually awarded a 3–0 win by UEFA after the match was abandoned, with the FA claiming their team acted with restraint despite being provoked by the ‘attacking’ flag and then attacked as they attempted to remove it from the pitch .
In Surbatovic’s statement on Thursday, he also referred to the recent problems caused by their supporters during the tournament.
UEFA has charged the Serbian Football Association with two offenses following their defeat to England on Sunday: throwing objects and conveying a provocative message ‘unsuitable for a sporting event’.
UEFA has appointed an inspector to conduct a disciplinary investigation ‘into alleged discriminatory behaviour’
UEFA has already sued the Albanian FA for fan problems during the European Championship
The latter would be related to the display of a flag linked to a paramilitary movement that engaged in ethnic cleansing during the Yugoslav wars.
The governing body also launched an investigation into claims that monkey noises were directed at England players during the game. An inspector has been appointed who will conduct a disciplinary investigation ‘into alleged discriminatory behavior’, but a solution is only expected after the group phase.
Meanwhile, the governing body has filed four charges against the Albania FFootball Association for incidents during the match in Dortmund, which ended 2-1 against Italy. A pitch intruder stopped the play in the final moments of the game and that incident was one of the charges.
The charges included ‘throwing objects’, ‘discharging fireworks’, ‘invading the playing field’ and ‘conveying a provocative message unsuitable for a sporting event’.
It comes amid rising tensions between fans elsewhere at the European Championship in Germany.
Football hooliganism has made an embarrassing return to the euro. Before England’s opening match against Serbia. Some British fans are said to have been injured after bloody clashes caused by Serbian arch-rivals Albania attacking Serbs outside a bar in Gelsenkirchen.
Riot police clashed with a crowd of supporters as violence made an embarrassing return to the sport. Police sources told MailOnline that at least six people had been arrested.
Serbia is preparing for the match against Slovenia at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena on Thursday afternoon
Serbia’s extraordinary threat comes a matter of hours before their second Group C match against Slovenia at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
Dragan Stojkovic will be confident of securing victory, which would significantly boost their chances of qualification after England came close in their opener.