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When the Balkans came to Euro 2024: Chanting, flags and why Serbia threatened to quit
A reporter from Kosovo was sent home for goading Serbian fans during one match before Albania forward Mirlind Daku was banned for two games for grabbing a microphone after his team’s draw with Croatia and shouting nationalist chants to the crowd.
That game was a low point for recent relations between Serbia and its neighbours, as fans from Albania and Croatia were alleged to have shouted anti-Serb chants.
The Albanian federation was fined almost £150,000 for their fans and players’ behaviour in Germany but Serbia were hit with even stiffer sanctions when their fans set fire to Albanian flags during Nations League games in November against Switzerland and Denmark. As a result of those actions, there will be no Serbian fans at their next two away games and they will have to play in front of partially closed stands for their next two home games.
Given this litany of acrimony, it is hardly surprising that news of the joint bid was greeted with protests in Albania and Kosovo last year.
However, the two federations, with the backing of their governments and UEFA, are determined to improve relations between the countries, which is timely as they have just been drawn in the same qualifying group for the 2026 World Cup.
In terms of the plan for 2027, the two nations will each host two of the four-team groups and split the quarter-finals and semi-finals evenly. The National Arena in Albania’s capital Tirana will host the final, with Stadium Karadjordje in the Serbian city of Novi Sad staging the tournament’s opening game.
It will be the biggest football tournament either nation has hosted and the first major sporting event they have shared.
(Top photo: Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)
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Publish date : 2025-02-03 14:34:00
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