June 21 – The complex and fever-pitch intensity and rivalry among the various Balkan neighbours at Euro 2024 continues to take centre stage with UEFA now opening an investigation into Serbian claims that fans of Albania and Croatia chanted ‘kill, kill, kill the Serb’ during their Group B game on Wednesday.
In a statement released late on Thursday, European football’s governing body said an ethics and disciplinary inspector had been appointed “to conduct an investigation regarding potential racist and/or discriminatory conduct” by supporters during the 2-2 draw in Hamburg.
It added that the inspector would also investigate the “alleged inappropriate behaviour” of Albania forward Mirland Daku.
Albania’s late equaliser led to wild celebrations after the game and the 26-year-old is alleged to have shouted ‘f*** Macedonia” and “f*** Serbs’ into a megaphone.
A few hours later, the North Macedonian FA said they would lodge a complaint with UEFA and urged the player to apologise.
Daku, who plays for Russian club side Rubin Kazan, previously featured for Kosovo before switching to Albania in 2023.
UEFA’s investigation into the two incidents follows a threat from the Football Association of Serbia (FSS) that it would consider quitting Euro 2024 if the governing body failed to punish their Albanian and Croatian counterparts.
The formal request for sanctions from the FSS referred to the “shameful joint chanting by fans of both teams, which was directed against the Serbian nation as a whole”, not from a few individuals “but a large number of fans of these teams”.
In relation to the ‘kill the Serb’ chant, FSS asked UEFA why it did not implement the three-step procedure for tackling racist incidents inside stadiums.
Under this rule, which has been in place since 2009, match officials can halt play to address racist behaviour through a public announcement. If this fails, the referee can take the players off the pitch for up to 10 minutes while further requests to stop the behaviour are made. Should this also fail, the referee has the authority to abandon the game.
On Monday, the Serbian Football Association was itself charged by UEFA after their supporters displayed a banner that “transmitted a provocative message unfit for a sports event” against England.
That charge came after the Kosovo Football Federation complained to UEFA about “Serbian fans displaying political, chauvinistic, and racist messages against Kosovo” during the same game.
The strong sense of nationality and allegiance continued on Thursday when Serbia fans chanted ‘Kosovo is the heart of Serbia’ in Munich’s Marienplatz. Fans had gathered in the city-centre square before their team’s game with Slovenia at the Allianz Arena.
It is unlikely Serbia would follow up their threat to quit. UEFA tournament rules for Euro 2024 call for sanctions against teams refusing to play, and a federation that is “responsible for a match not taking place or not being played in full loses all rights to payments from UEFA.”
Serbia is also due to receive at least €9.25 million from a tournament prize fund of €331 million, a significant financial carrot. If the country pulled out they would be liable to pay compensation and face further disciplinary action.
The animosity between Croatian and Albanian fans toward the Serbs, and vice versa, dates back to the 1990s wars in the Balkans. Serbian fans are notorious for racist chanting even reportedly supporting convicted war criminals responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.
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