UEFA has opened 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 Mirlind 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. 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.
Speaking to Serbian state broadcaster RTS on Wednesday night, FSS general secretary Jovan Surbatovic said: “What happened is scandalous and we will ask UEFA for sanctions, even if it means not continuing the competition.”
A formal request for sanctions came from FSS in a letter, which The Athletic has seen, to UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis on Thursday.
Referring to the “shameful joint chanting by fans of both teams, which was directed against the Serbian nation as a whole”, the FSS said the chanting occurred in the 59th minute of the game and was not from a few individuals “but a large number of fans of these teams”.
Describing the chanting as “completely unacceptable” and “impossible to justify”, the letter also said Daku was trying to “inflame the crowd”.
(Sergei Mikhailichenko/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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.
“The rule was properly applied in cases of much lower intensity, so we are all surprised that it was not applied in this match,” FSS wrote.
The letter concluded by saying FSS believes UEFA “will react in the right way” and “urgently and severely punish” those responsible for the chants, which it said had not been heard “at a sports event for a long time”.
UEFA has already fined the Albanian FA almost £32,000 for the behaviour of its supporters during their opening game against Italy on Saturday. The fans were punished for throwing objects onto the pitch, lighting fireworks, a pitch invasion and “transmitting a provocative message not fit for a sporting event”.
A Kosovan TV reporter has also been banned from working at the tournament for making a double-headed eagle sign at Serbian fans during Serbia’s opening game against England on Sunday. The gesture, which is made with crossed hands, represents the flag of Greater Albania and has been the source of considerable rancour between ethnic Albanians and Serbs for years.
Serbia, however, have also already been sanctioned by UEFA.
FSS was fined just over £12,000 for their fans’ behaviour during the England game, which included displaying a banner that asserted Serbia’s claim over the predominantly Albanian republic of Kosovo.
Seven Serbian fans were also arrested by police after clashes with England supporters before the match in Gelsenkirchen and an investigation has been opened by UEFA into reports of racist chanting directed at England’s Black players during the game.
The Albanian FA has not responded to a request for comment but a spokesman for the Croatian FA told The Athletic it did not believe any Croatian fans were involved in “any racist or discriminatory chants” during the game against Albania, adding that it was not mentioned in the UEFA match delegate’s report either.
Serbia scored a last-minute equaliser against Slovenia, another former Yugoslav republic, on Thursday to maintain their chances of progressing in the tournament.
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Serbia threaten to quit Euro 2024 over offensive chants
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