Serbia threaten to withdraw from Euro 2024 over Croatia and Albania chants

Serbia are demanding that Uefa punish Croatia and Albania after accusing their fans of hateful chanting during their Euro 2024 clash in Hamburg on Wednesday.

Jovan Surbatovic, general secretary of the Football Association of Serbia, said a formal complaint had been submitted, claiming that Croatia and Albania fans chanted “Kill, kill, kill the Serb” during the 2-2 draw. He even threatened that Serbia, themselves charged by Uefa for incidents during their defeat by England on Sunday, could withdraw from the tournament.

“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.”

On Monday, the Serbian Football Association was charged by Uefa after their supporters displayed a banner that “transmitted a provocative message unfit for a sports event” against England and for throwing objects inside the stadium in Gelsenkirchen.

That charge came after the Kosovo Football Federation complained to European football’s governing body about “Serbian fans displaying political, chauvinistic, and racist messages against Kosovo” during the same game.

“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.”

Serbia fans chanted “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia” in Munich’s Marienplatz on Thursday. Fans had gathered in the city-centre square before their team’s game with Slovenia at the Allianz Arena.