The Serbian Football Association have threatened to pull their team out of Euro 2024 after Croatian and Albanian fans chanted anti-Serbia songs during their Group B clash on Wednesday.
Jovan Surbatovic, the general secretary of the Serbian Football Association, confirmed on Thursday that he had made a formal complaint about “kill, kill, kill the Serb” chants that were heard throughout the clash between Croatia and Albania at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg. He said:
“What happened is scandalous and we will ask UEFA for sanctions, even if it means not continuing the competition. If UEFA doesn't punish them, we will think about how to proceed. We will demand from UEFA to punish the federations of both selections.”
#Serbia FA Secretary Jovan Šurbatović, says his country will consider abandoning Euro 2024, if #Albania and #Croatia “don't get hefty fines” for “Kill the Serb” chants. pic.twitter.com/VREest6u5I
— Xhemajl Rexha (@xhemajl_rexha) June 19, 2024
UEFA have confirmed that disciplinary proceedings have now been opened against both sets of fans and that they are investigating ‘potential racist and/or discriminatory conduct by supporters'. They are also looking into footage of Albania forward, Mirlin Daku, who addressed Albania fans through a megaphone after the full-time whistle.
Serbian FA threaten to quit Euro 2024 despite their own troubles at tournament
Serbia have been at the centre of several controversies at Euro 2024 over the first of the week tournament. They were charged by UEFA for displaying ‘provocative messages unfit for a sports event' and for also throwing objects inside the stadium during their opening match against England.
Meanwhile, they are still under investigation for alleged racist chants during the same match. Talking about these incidents, Mr Surbatovic said:
“We were punished for isolated cases and our fans behaved much better than the others. One fan was punished for racist insults and we don't want it to be attributed to others. We Serbs are gentlemen and we have an open heart.”
Albania fans have also earned their football association a fine. They displayed banners of nationalist maps during their opening match, something that Serbian fans were also found guilty of doing.
Earlier in the tournament, a Journalist from Kosava, Arlind Sadiku, had his UEFA accreditation taken away from him after he was caught making a nationalist eagle gesture towards Serbia fans during their match with England.
Why do Serbia and Albania hate each other?
The tension between Serbians and Albanians is heavily linked to Kosovo, a small nation that declared independence from Serbia back in 2008. To this day, Serbia still don't recognise Kosovo as a sovereign state, which has led to conflict between Serbians and Albanians.
Why? Well, because 92% of the population in Kosovo are Albanian. The small, landlocked country shares a border with both Serbia and Albania, in addition to North Macedonia and Montenegro. Due to the large Albanian presence in the country, there is a political push to make the nation part of Albania.
Interestingly, the charges that Serbia have already faced in Euro 2024 are a result of complaints made from the Kosovo Football Federation. Serbian fans were alleged to have displayed ‘political, chauvinistic and racist messages against Kosovo'. Some reports have stated that Serbia fans have been heard chanting ‘Kosovo is the heart of Serbia' during the tournament.