SER-VE NOTICE
England’s rivals Serbia threaten to PULL OUT of Euro 2024 as they demand punishment for Croatia and Albania
Serbia face heavy fine of their own for actions in Three Lions game
SERBIA have threatened to QUIT Euro 2024 after accusing Croatia and Albania fans of shouting vile chants at the tournament.
England's first-round opponents claim supporters from their two fellow Balkan nations chanted "kill, kill, kill the Serb" during yesterday's 2-2 draw in Group B.
4
4
4
The General Secretary of the Football Association of Serbia, Jovan Surbatovic, has submitted a request for Uefa to punish both Croatia and Albania for the alleged chants in the 59th minute.
And he has warned that Serbia are ready to walk away from Euro 2024 if no action is taken.
He said, via RTS: "First of all, I want to thank our fans for their support in the match against England and I hope we will beat Slovenia.
"What happened is scandalous and we will ask UEFA for sanctions, even if it means not continuing the competition.
"We are sure that they will be punished, because they have already responded to our appeal to remove the so-called journalist from Albania from the championship.
"We will demand from UEFA to punish the federations of both selections. We do not want to participate in that, but if UEFA does not punish them, we will think how will we proceed.
"We were punished for isolated cases and our fans behaved much better than the others.
"One fan was punished for racist insults and we don't want it to be attributed to others.
Most read in Euro 2024
"We Serbs are gentlemen and we have an open heart, so I appeal to the fans to remain gentlemen."
Serbia lost their Group C opener 1-0 to England on Sunday.
England fans' must watch guide to Frankfurt ahead of Three Lions' Euro 2024 clash vs Denmark
Kosovo and Serbia tensions
Kosovo and Serbia share a tumultuous past, with a war lasting from 1998-1999 - ending when NATO initiated an aerial bombardment campaign against Yugoslavia.
The Western-backed intervention thwarted Serbia's genocide of Albanian Kosovars, which was led by Serbia’s then-President Slobodan Milošević.
In the two decades since the conflict ended, tensions have been simmering, with strained relations coming to a head again in December of last year.
Ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo erected barricades in the divided city of Mitrovica using trucks loaded with rocks - crippling the region.
Serbia still refuses to recognise Kosovo’s statehood.
They face a heavy Uefa fine of their own after brandishing controversial flags to taunt other countries.
Serbia's next game sees them play Slovenia at 2pm this afternoon.
Should they end up withdrawing from the Euros, it would see their final group stage game against Denmark fall through.
According to Uefa laws, the Danes would be handed an automatic 3-0 win and Serbia would also land a huge fine.
As for Group B, Croatia face Italy in their final game after picking up just one point from two games.
They lost 3-0 to Spain in their opening match and conceded a 95th minute equaliser to Albania yesterday.
The latter also have just one point after defeat to Italy in the first round, and will need to beat Spain handsomely in the final group game to stand a chance of progressing.
What is the Albania eagle celebration?
Switzerland players have celebrated goals in the past by putting their open hands together to look like a double-headed eagle - like the one displayed on the Albanian flag.
Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka celebrated goals against Serbia at the 2018 World Cup by making the nationalist symbol of their ethnic Albanian heritage.
Critics warned the act risked inflaming tensions among Serbian nationalists and ethnic Albanians.
Serbia wanted the pair, whose families are from Kosovo, to be hit with two-match bans by Fifa at the time.
Serbia do not recognise Kosovo's independence and relations remain tense with many families choosing to move to other European counties including Switzerland.
Shaqiri and Xhaka escaped a ban but were fined £7,630 each for the Albanian Eagle celebration, which was dubbed "unsportsmanlike conduct" by Fifa.
4