BELGRADE.- The football managers of Serbia threatened to withdraw from the European Championship because they were offended by fans’ chants during the match between Albania y Croatia.
Wednesday’s game ended in a 2-2 draw in Hamburg.
Serbia played its second group stage match against Slovenia in Munich on Thursday and tied 1-1. The country’s third match is scheduled for Tuesday against Denmark.
“What happened is scandalous and we will ask UEFA for sanctions, even with the cost of not continuing in the competition,” said Serbian Football Association secretary general Jovan Surbatovic.
“We will ask UEFA to punish the federations of both teams. “We do not want to participate in that, but if UEFA does not punish them we will decide how to proceed.”
In another statement on Thursday, the Serbian federation condemned “the shameful racist behavior” of the Albanian and Croatian fans and said the match should have been suspended as soon as the chanting started.
“So insulting to a nation, with chants saying they should kill them, has not been seen at sporting events for a long time,” the statement added.
UEFA did not respond to a request for comment.
The president of the organization Aleksander Ceferin was with Serbian officials in Munich for the game against Slovenia, his local team.
UEFA’s rules for Euro 2024 call for sanctions against teams that refuse to play and federations that “are responsible for a game not taking place or not being played in its entirety will lose their rights to receive a payment from the UEFA.” “UEFA.”
Serbia must receive at least 9.25 million euros ($9.9 million) in the tournament’s share of the 331 million euros ($355 million) that UEFA pays in revenues from broadcasts, sponsorship and ticket sales. The Serbian Federation could also have to pay compensation and face further sanctions.
The animosity of Croatian and Albanian fans towards Serbians and vice versa dates back to the Balkan war of the 1990s.
Serbian fans have been noted for their chants against Croats and Serbs, as well as racist exclamations and support for war criminals responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people during the war that disintegrated the former Yugoslavia.
Previous punishments:
UEFA fined the Serbian and Albanian federations 10,000 euros ($10,700) each after their supporters displayed banners with nationalist maps at their first matches.
Each Federation is responsible for the conduct of its fans and UEFA accused Serbia and Albania of “transmitting provocative messages that are not in keeping with a sporting event.”
Albania’s supporters unfurled a banner with a map of the country, stretching beyond its borders. This was seen during Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Italy in Dortmund.
Serbian fans displayed signs that included Kosovo, a former Serbian province that declared independence in 2008, along with the phrase “We will not surrender,” in the 1-0 loss to England in Gelsenkirchen.
UEFA launched an investigation into the alleged monkey cries directed at English players in that match.
Source: AP
