June 20 – Twenty-four hours after being punished by UEFA for displaying anti-Kosovo sentiments, Serbia today threatened to pull out of Euro 24 because of perceived attacks on their own identity.
The Serbians complained to UEFA about chanting between fans of Croatia and Albania on Wednesday, reportedly including ‘Kill The Serbs’, and said they would withdraw if it goes unpunished.
At their own game against England, Serbia fans displayed a banner which included the independent territory of Kosovo and a slogan ‘No Surrender’.
Unlike most countries in Europe and the United Nations, the Serbs don’t recognise Kosovo as an independent territory.
Albania have already been sanctioned by UEFA for provocative political slogans during their 2-1 loss against Italy on Saturday but Serbia clearly believe the current case merits far more draconian action.
With regards to the Croatian-Albania chanting, Serbian Football Association general secretary Jovan Surbatovic fumed: “What happened is scandalous and we will ask UEFA for sanctions, even at the cost of not continuing the competition.
“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 how will we proceed. We were punished for isolated cases and our fans behave much better than the others.”
That will be construed by many as somewhat misguided given Serbia’s history of fan misconduct yet even after their own sanction by UEFA on Wednesday, Surbatovic used the same rhetoric. “We Serbs are gentlemen and we have an open heart,” he declared.
To their credit, UEFA are taking a somewhat more balanced approach, cancelling the credentials of a Kosovar journalist who made a nationalist double-handed eagle gesture towards Serbia fans during the game against England.
The gesture mimics the eagle on Albania’s national flag, which can inflame tensions between Serbian nationalists and ethnic Albanians, who make up the vast majority of Kosovo’s population.
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