Serbia threatens to abandon the tournament after chanting by Croatian and Albanian fans

Serbia has threatened to withdraw from Euro 2024 unless Croatia and Albania are punished for their fans' chanting.

Chants of “kill, kill the Serb” were reported during Croatia's 2-2 draw with Albania in Hamburg yesterday.

FA general secretary Jovan Surbatovic of Serbia told national broadcaster RTS: “What happened is disgraceful and we will ask for UEFA sanctions, even if it means not continuing in the competition.”

“We don't want to take part in that, but if UEFA doesn't punish them, we will think about how to proceed.”

Surbatovic insisted the Serbians were “men” despite being fined £12,250 by the FA after fans were found throwing objects onto the pitch during their 1-0 defeat to England on Sunday evening.

He added: “We were punished for individual offenses and our supporters behaved much better than others.”

“One fan was punished for racist insults and we don't want it to be looked at by others. We Serbs are gentlemen and we have open hearts, so I urge the fans to always be gentlemen.”

Serbian fans enjoy 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-step' process was not followed during the performance.

That would have caused the game to be paused for a warning to be issued over the public address system. If it continued this game would be stopped before it was abandoned if the singing continued.

The statement read as follows: “As you may know, from 58 minutes and 28 seconds to 58 and 50 seconds, Croatian and Albanian fans shouted together “kill, kill the Serb” together.

“These were not people, but a lot of fans of these national teams, which at that time were not allowed according to UEFA's clear rules, and the actions of the officials in those situations.

“This type of behavior is unacceptable, especially in a major sporting event like this one that is followed throughout Europe and around the world.

“Instead of the football field being a place where one can cheer on one's teams and promote sportsmanship and fairness, totally unacceptable behavior was seen in this game, which cannot be justified in any way.

“According to the information we have, another player of the Albanian team, after the end of the game, in front of the captain and the Albanian fans, used a megaphone to shout the same and thus “inflame” the crowd.

“The Football Association of Serbia believes that when the aforementioned chanting of the fans started, the match should have been stopped and “three steps” started.

“We are surprised that it was not used by UEFA officials in this match.

“We ask that you quickly punish those involved in the events mentioned above and ensure that the games are played in a normal manner. We want to remind you that this kind of hatred and bigotry that is rampant represents everything your organization is fighting against.”

Serbia will return to action this afternoon when they face Slovenia in Munich.