Serbia have threatened to withdraw from Euro 2024 unless Croatia and Albania are sanctioned for abusive chanting by their supporters.
Chants of “kill, kill the Serb” were reported from both sets of fans during Croatia’s 2-2 draw with Albania in Hamburg yesterday.
The general secretary of the Serbian FA Jovan Surbatovic told state broadcaster RTS: “What happened is scandalous and we will ask UEFA for sanctions, even if it means not continuing in the competition.
“We do not want to participate in that, but if UEFA does not punish them, we will think how will we proceed.”
Surbatovic insisted Serbians were “gentlemen” despite their FA being fined £12,250 after their fans were found to have thrown objects on to the field during their 1-0 defeat to England on Sunday evening.
He added: “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. We Serbs are gentlemen and we have an open heart, so I appeal to the fans to remain gentlemen.”
Serbia fans enjoying the pre-match atmosphere in Munich 🇷🇸🎶#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/rpxsXkdRcT
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) June 20, 2024
The Serbian FA later issued an open letter to UEFA demanding to know why their ‘three steps’ procedure was not followed at the time of the chanting.
That would have seen the game temporarily stopped for a warning to be issued over the public address system. If it continued the game would be suspended before being abandoned if the chanting carried on.
The statement read: “As you probably know, from 58 minutes and 28 seconds to 58 minutes and 50 seconds, Croatian and Albanian fans shouted “kill, kill the Serb” together.
“This was not individuals but a large number of fans from these national teams, which at that moment were not sanctioned in accordance with UEFA’s regulations, which are clear, as well as the actions of officials…
Source link : https://www.101greatgoals.com/news/euro-2024-serbia-threaten-to-quit-tournament-after-chanting-from-croatian-and-albanian-fans/
Author : Jon Fisher
Publish date : 2024-06-20 12:00:40
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