Serbia have threatened to pull its football team out of Euro 2024 if UEFA doesn’t punish Croatia and Albania for alleged hateful chants.
Jovan Surbatovic, general secretary of the Serbian football association, said they have made a formal complaint about “kill, kill, kill the Serb” chants during the 2-2 draw between Croatia and Albania on Wednesday.
He warned the team could pull out entirely if the European football governing body UEFA doesn’t act on their complaint.
On Thursday evening, UEFA opened an investigation to look into the alleged misconduct.
“What happened is scandalous and we will ask UEFA for sanctions, even if it means not continuing the competition,” Mr Surbatovic said, according to Serbian broadcaster PTC.
“If UEFA doesn’t punish them, we will think about how to proceed.”
Serbia drew against Slovenia in Group C on Thursday, having lost to England 1-0 on Sunday.
The Serbian FA was charged by UEFA for incidents during that game.
Supporters displayed a banner that “transmitted a provocative message unfit for a sports event” and threw objects inside the stadium, according to UEFA.
That charge came after the Kosovo Football Federation complained about “Serbian fans displaying political, chauvinistic, and racist messages against Kosovo”.
Read more:
Southgate admits England can play better
Analysis: The Tartan Army still have hope
Reuters news agency reported a group of Serbia fans chanted “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia” in central Munich’s Marienplatz on Thursday, ahead of their team’s game against Slovenia.
“We were punished for isolated cases and our fans behaved much better than the others,” Mr Surbatovic said.
“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.”
UEFA has been approached for comment.
Axel Disasi is considering leaving Chelsea as early as January, with German champions Bayer Leverkusen joining the race for the defender according to reports.Di
Former France international Diarra, now 39, has been mired in a series of legal battles since his contract with Lokomotiv Moscow was terminated by the club in 2
The Cherries are currently fifth in the Premier League table. Bournemouth’s 3-0 thrashing of Manchester United indicated that they are on the course of som
The group behind a proposed breakaway European football competition is back. They have a new name for their tournament, too, calling it the Unify League this t