Although before the selection for the 2016 European Championship draw ceremony in the football community there were suggestions not to allow Serbia and Albania teams to play in the same group, UEFA did not hear the requests and now has to conduct a serious investigation.
On Tuesday, the Euro 2016 qualifying Group I match in Belgrade was interrupted when politically charged fans began to rush onto the field, according to the BBC.
The provocation that halted the match was the Albanian flag. It was flown through the stands and onto the field at 41 minutes by a small remote-controlled airplane.
The flag was caught by a Serbian footballer. Soon Albanians tried to take it back and a scuffle ensued. After a few moments, some Serbian fans began to rush onto the field, forcing riot police to intervene.
The English referee Martin Atkinson took the players off the field, and after 30 minutes of waiting, it was decided that the match would not be resumed.
Albanian fans of the national team were banned from coming to Belgrade.
The tense situation between Serbia and Albania is fueled by the situation regarding Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008. The independence was recognized by the US and the majority of European Union countries, but Serbia refused to consider Kosovo as independent.
"It's a shameful situation and we have reported everything. The circumstances were such that we couldn't continue the match," said UEFA representative at the match, Harry Bean.
"Everyone saw what happened. I can't comment or blame anyone. I will prepare a report for my UEFA colleagues and they will decide what to do," he said.
Serbia's national broadcaster RTS reported that Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama's brother Olsi Rama was arrested in the VIP box. Allegedly, O. Rama was the one who flew the flag with the airplane. However, such reports cannot be confirmed at this time.
lrytas.lt
