Audience intrusion + player assault = Asurajan Serbia and Albania met again after 10 years! North Korea-China World Cup Grouping
Dec 14, 2024
|
|
With the UEFA holding a draw for the 2026 North-China World Cup European qualifying round on the 14th (Korea time), Serbia and Albania are in a group and drawing attention.
The two countries have historically faced sharp confrontations. In particular, after the collapse of the communist regime due to the Eastern European Revolution, it was engulfed in the Kosovo War, and civilians on both sides were slaughtered.
This conflict was no exception on the soccer field. On October 14, 2014, in Belgrade, Serbia, a drone containing an Albanian far-right nationalist symbol stormed at the end of the first half in Group I of the Euro 2016 qualifying round, and the match was suspended after Serbian players caught it and got into a dispute with Albanian players. In the end, even Serbian spectators broke into the ground, causing violence. In the process of the Albanian players leaving in a hurry, they were even mucked by Serbian spectators. Albania treated the returning players as heroes, but Serbia was in conflict as they held them accountable for the drone crisis.
Ten days later, UEFA declared Serbia's 3-0 forfeiture victory. However, he returned three points and disposed of two qualifying games without spectators, asking for responsibility for disturbance in spectators. The two football associations were fined €100,000. Albania appealed through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and CAS was declared a 3-0 confiscation victory for Albania. Serbia was eliminated from the Euro 2016 qualifying round, with points being cut.
|
Conflict seems inevitable again this time.
Last month, a Serbian crowd lit an Albanian flag during an away trip to Switzerland. It was aimed at the fact that Albanian-Kosovo players such as Granit Xhaka are in the Swiss national team. As a result, UEFA fined the Serbian Football Association 173,000 euros and suspended the sale of two away tickets, and has also taken measures to empty some of the stands for home games. This is why concerns are inevitably greater than expectations for the match between the two teams, which will meet again for the first time in a decade.
ppark@sportschosun.com
