By Mark Baber
October 15 – The Serbia v Albania Euro 2016 qualifier, which was played without away fans due to the ongoing tensions between the two countries, was abandoned on Tuesday evening after a drone carrying a flag of “Greater Albania” was flown over the pitch.
The match was the Albanian national team’s first visit to Belgrade since 1967, since which time the largely ethnic Albanian Serbian province of Kosovo has declared independence and NATO bombed the city. So when, after a scoreless 40 minutes of play, a drone began hovering above the pitch from which was hanging a flag showing a “Greater Albania” including both Kosovo and parts of Southern Serbia, the prospect for trouble was clear.
The Serbian player Stefan Mitrovic managed to catch the flag and began to pull the drone down when Albanian players Andi Lila and Taulant Xhaka apparently took it into their heads to “defend the flag” which they managed to grab and passed to Albanian striker Bekim Balaj. Belaj ran away with it, with what intention is unclear as he was attacked by a Serbian fan with a plastic chair who had managed to get onto the pitch amidst the uproar.
Several Albanian players then piled in to Balaj’s rescue whilst substitutes, officials and other players formed a melee in which, it has to be said, most of the participants appeared to be trying to calm things down. In this respect, Alexandar Kolarov deserves special praise.
At this point, with several incensed fans having breached perimeter security, English referee Martin Atkinson apparently made the decision that the players should leave the pitch. As they ran off into the tunnel, the Albanian players were attacked by another fan and a number of projectiles including a plastic seat were thrown in their direction.
After a 40 minute delay, it was announced that the match would be abandoned, with Branislav Ivanovic telling the media that the Serbians had wished to continue but the Albanians said they were not physically or mentally capable of continuing the game.
The UEFA match delegate, Harry M Been, said: “We regret the situation. You all saw what happened and I cannot comment on who is to blame or what to blame. I will submit a report with my colleagues to Uefa and Uefa will decide what will happen further.”
A Serbian newspaper claimed the drone had been controlled by Orfi Rama from the VIP section, that Rama had been arrested and found with the remote control, but that he had subsequently been released after proving his US nationality. The incident comes just days before Orfi Rama’s brother, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, visits Belgrade in the first such meeting for many decades.
The unfortunate end of the game was reportedly met with joy by Kosovar Albanians in Pristina, but will certainly be a major headache for UEFA who will need to consider what sanctions to apply and to whom.