Serbia Threatens to Quit Euro 2024 Over Fan Chants

Serbia's football officials threatened to withdraw from the European Championship after reportedly offensive fan chants during the Albania-Croatia match. They are demanding sanctions from UEFA, or they may quit the competition. Tensions among Balkans fans, rooted in historical conflicts, have led to previous fines and ongoing investigations.

Serbia soccer officials have issued a threat to withdraw from the European Championship in response to fan chants deemed offensive during the Albania-Croatia match.

The match, which concluded in a 2-2 draw in Hamburg on Wednesday, has intensified tensions as Serbia enters its second group game against Slovenia in Munich.

"What happened is scandalous and we will ask UEFA for sanctions, even at the cost of not continuing the competition," said Jovan Surbatovic, general secretary of the Serbia Football Association.

"We will request UEFA to punish the federations of both teams. We don't want to participate in that, but if UEFA doesn't punish them, we will think about how to proceed."

The animosity between Croatian and Albanian fans towards the Serbs, and vice versa, stems from the 1990s Balkans wars.

Serbian fans have a history of hostile chants against Croats and Albanians, along with racist chants and supporting convicted war criminals responsible for the Yugoslav wars.

Earlier, UEFA fined the Albanian and Serbian federations 10,000 euros each after fans at previous matches displayed nationalist banners.

UEFA charged both Serbia and Albania with transmitting provocative messages not appropriate for a sports event.

Each federation was held accountable for their fans' behavior, as banners depicting enlarged national territories were displayed at their respective matches.

UEFA has also initiated an investigation into allegations of racist chants directed at England players during Serbia's earlier game.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)