Serbia and Albania’s Euro 2016 qualifier was abandoned in the 41st minute on Tuesday after a drone carrying a pro-Albanian message was flown over Belgrade’s Partizan Stadium, sparking violent scenes on and off the pitch.
The Group I match between the Balkan rivals was scoreless when it was stopped after a drone trailing a “Greater Albania” flag carrying a map of Albania enlarged to include chunks of its neighbors flew over the stadium in the Serbian capital and was brought down by Serbia’s Stefan Mitrovic.
The incident triggered clashes between the two sets of players and a handful of the 20,000 Serbian spectators ran onto the pitch and tried to assault the Albanian team.
Photo: AFP
Albania fans had been banned from attending the match.
At the start of the match, the Albanian anthem was loudly jeered by Serbian fans and derogatory chants were heard throughout the first half. Serbian supporters also threw flares at the field.
The Serbian Ministry of the Interior said the brother of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama was arrested over the incident, accused of controlling the drone from his seat in the stadium’s executive box.
However, Olsi Rama said he had “nothing to do with the drone.”
“I don’t understand where this story came from,” he said. “I was neither arrested nor detained. When the incident occurred the situation became chaotic, police were checking everyone. I showed them my US passport and my camera and all this lasted only a few minutes.”
The incident comes just days before Edi Rama is due to make the first visit by an Albanian prime minister to Serbia in 68 years.
Rama’s visit, set for next Wednesday, became possible after the normalization of bilateral ties was sealed in an agreement brokered by the EU in April last year.
Relations between Tirana and Belgrade have been strained over the issue of the mainly ethnic Albanian former Serbian province of Kosovo — now an independent country — and the Albanian minority in southern Serbia, who frequently demand more autonomy.
In Belgrade, some see Tirana’s interest as part of a plan aimed at creating a “Greater Albania” that would unite Albanian communities in Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia and southern Serbia.
The end to the game was greeted with joy by nearly 5,000 Kosovar Albanians who gathered to watch on TV in Kosovo’s capital of Pristina, shouting: “Greater Albania” and “victory.”
European soccer’s governing body UEFA said the circumstances would be reported to its Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body.
Following the fracas, the Albanian team returned home to a heroes’ welcome yesterday.
Albanian Deputy Prime Minister Niko Peleshi, Minister for Sport Lindita Nikolli and up to 3,000 flag-waving fans cheered the team as at Tirana International Airport, while Edi Rama, who is abroad, praised players on Twitter for “the pride and joy they gave us.”
Albanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ditmir Bushati tweeted that “Football should not be highjacked by extremism,” adding “Proud of our #Albania team: showed courage and maturity.”
Goalkeeper Etrit Berisha thanked the fans for the welcome, writing on Facebook that “defending our national symbols is a duty for us.”
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