Serbia threaten to withdraw from Euro 2024

Rajarshi has been part of Khel Now since 2022, and he covers world football.

Published at :June 20, 2024 at 8:01 PM

Modified at :June 20, 2024 at 8:01 PM

Serbia demand UEFA punish Croatia and Albania.

Serbia have demanded that UEFA punish both Albania and Croatia for allegedly having racist chants during their matchup for Euro 2024 on Wednesday in Hamburg.

The Football Association of Serbia’s chief executive officer, Jovan Surbatovic, announced that a formal complaint had been filed, alleging that during the 2-2 draw, supporters of Croatia and Albania screamed, “Kill, kill, kill the Serb.”

He even made a threat to pull Serbia out of the Euro 2024 competition after they were penalised by FIFA for events during their Sunday loss to England.

“First of all, I want to thank our fans for their support in the match against England and I hope we will beat Slovenia” Surbatovic has been quoted as saying, “What happened is scandalous and we will ask Uefa for sanctions, even if it means not continuing the competition. If Uefa doesn’t punish them, we will think about how to proceed.”

“We were punished for isolated cases and our fans behaved much better than the others” 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.”

Also read: Euro 2024: Will Kylian Mbappe start for France against Netherlands?

The fans of the Serbian Football Association were punished by UEFA for hurling objects inside the Gelsenkirchen stadium and for displaying a banner against England that “transmitted a violent signal unsuitable for a sports event.”

The Kosovo Football Federation filed the complaint on “Serbian fans displaying political, arrogant, and racist messages against Kosovo” during the same game with the European football regulatory body.

In Munich’s Marienplatz on Thursday, supporters of Serbia yelled, “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia.” Prior to their team’s matchup with Slovenia at the Allianz Arena, supporters had assembled in the city centre plaza.

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Rajarshi Shukla

After earning a bachelor's degree in mass media, Rajarshi began his career as a sports writer in 2019, driven by his passion for sports journalism. He has been working in the field for over six years. A devoted fan of Lionel Messi and Barcelona, Rajarshi has been involved in sports since childhood. Before turning his focus to journalism, he even represented his college at the state level. Along with covering football, he enjoys playing the game, watching movies, and experimenting with new recipes in his spare time, as cooking is one of his favorite hobbies.