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Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Terrorism police deployed amid violence fears for World Cup qualifier
Tensions are high in Tirana as Albania host Serbia in England's 2026 World Cup qualifying group almost 11 years on from infamous abandonment because of drone carrying flag An estimated 2,000 police officers including an anti terrorism unit are bracing for trouble ahead of Albania and Serbia's World Cup qualifier in Tirana on Saturday night - after their most recent meeting in 2014 was abandoned because of an infamous drone row. The teams are facing off in Group K, the same pool as England, with visiting fans banned from attending the 22,500-capacity Arena Kombetare. But tensions will remain high throughout the weekend after the Serbia squad were escorted to their hotel by armed officers from the RENEA anti-terrorism unit. When the Balkan rivals met for a first time in October 2014, Serbia fans were heard chanting 'Kill the Albanian' before a drone carrying the flag of Great Albania flew over the Partizan stadium in Belgrade with the match still scoreless. It was dragged down by Serbia player Stefan Mitrovic, who was then subsequently surrounded by angry Albania players. From there ugly scenes erupted in the stands, leading to the game being abandoned. Months later the Court of Arbitration for Sport awarded Albania a 3-0 win. Serbia won the reverse fixture but it was held in a high-security bubble and passed off without major incident - despite rioting on the streets beforehand. Now they have been paired together with tonight's game coming under heavy scrutiny - especially since UEFA have awarded the nations joint hosting rights for the 2027 Under-21 Euros because they feel that can help build a relationship between the fierce rivals. And Armand Duka, president of the Albanian Football Federation, called on his compatriots to see the match as a sports event 'where the team gets support and positive energy from the fans to achieve the goal.' 'We want to give the message: let's live it as a sport festivity,' Duka told reporters, adding that Serbia supporters being banned "will contribute to a quieter environment.' He added: 'Players do not bear the burden of history or of the political tensions. They compete on the pitch to win, to give the best for the jersey they represent and, above all, to build the bridge of respect through the game.' Elseid Hysaj, the only member of Albania's present squad who was in the 2014 team, struck a peaceful note too, saying: 'We should be calm and be conscious that we are football players. We are here to please the fans and give our best for the victory.'
The Guardian
09-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Serbia and Albania move on from ‘drone' game but tensions still simmer
It was far more than a football flashpoint when, on a night in Belgrade that resembled the most vivid fever dream, all hell broke loose in a Euro 2016 qualifier between Serbia and Albania. The 'drone' game of October 2014 is notorious and the abiding memory is of Albania's players fleeing down the tunnel at Partizan Stadium, a tinderbox that had ignited dangerously. It sparked a diplomatic incident, the home country immediately summoning its near neighbour's ambassador to discuss the chaos wreaked after a 'Greater Albania' flag had been lowered over the pitch before half-time. Blame flew in every conceivable direction and it was a case study in how sport can amplify longstanding enmities in visceral, deeply consequential fashion. Maybe it was a dream after all. On Tuesday Uefa announced that the two countries would co-host its Under-21 Championship in 2027, confirming a decision effectively made last year after Belgium and Turkey withdrew their bids. There is justifiable contentment inside European football's governing body given the hurdles that needed to be overcome. The line, as repeated by the Albanian FA president and Uefa ExCo vice-president Armand Duka, is that the event will be 'a catalyst for breaking down barriers, enhancing mutual understanding and creating a more positive future for the people of Albania and Serbia'. In truth the bidding process, such as it was, may have been the simple part. It was a surprise when, last May, they announced the joint initiative after Albania were advised a solo bid would not pass. They have the region's most modern stadium in Tirana's Arena Kombëtare, which held the Conference League final in 2022, but would have struggled to stage the entire event. Serbia's unexpected arrival on the scene offered a solution and was encouraged by political figures keen on demonstrating closer ties, not to mention a Uefa leadership keen to foreground football's role in bridging the unbridgeable. In 2014 the respective FAs had not even managed to agree on details for ticket sales to away fans; now they were in lockstep over sharing a major competition. Others, though, are not so keen to play happy families. When Duka emphasised in September that 'I do not think and have never thought … that organising the European Championship can amnesty what has happened' he was referring, among other historical traumas, to Serbia's brutal war in the mainly ethnic Albanian Kosovo during the late 1990s. He was responding directly to protests from supporters' groups, who had made their feelings known when news of the bid emerged. Members of Tifozat Kuq e Zi, an influential ultras association that claims to number more than 7,000, sprayed red paint outside the FA's headquarters and displayed photographs relating to atrocities committed in Kosovo. 'We oppose any collaboration with the murderers,' read part of a post on social media. In November's match against Ukraine at Arena Kombëtare, some supporters held up banners condemning the tournament and referring again to war crimes. Lorik Cana, the Kosovo-born former Albania captain, described the co-hosting plan as 'not the proper step'. Although feelings are largely much less strong among Albanians who were not directly touched by the war in Kosovo, and dissent against Euro 2027 has been less pronounced in Serbia, there will remain a concern Uefa is playing with fire until the event has concluded successfully. It is hardly as if everyone involved has rubbed along nicely since the fateful evening in Belgrade, which was awarded to Albania as a walkover by the court of arbitration for sport. Fans and players of either persuasion continue to give Uefa's disciplinary chiefs periodic headaches with breaches of conduct involving the other. Albania were punished for a number of incidents at Euro 2024, including the striker Mirlind Daku's decision to shout 'fuck Serbia' and other nationalist chants down a megaphone after a match with Croatia. Serbia were fined in December after fans tried to set an Albania flag alight at a game against Switzerland. The list could go on and on. Level heads may well prevail but it is hard to think of a European competition in which tensions in the hosts' orbits have been so fresh. Any nerves within Uefa will face an acid test during the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Serbia and Albania were not barred from being paired in draws despite the disgrace of Belgrade; fate has put them back together this time in a group that also contains England, the first meeting taking place in Albania on 7 June before Serbia holds the rematch on 11 October. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion The sides faced each other a year after the drone fiasco, Serbia winning 2-0 in the Albanian city Elbasan amid smothering security. Much of the central boulevard in Tirana was closed when the Serbia team, staying in the capital, went for a pre-match walk, and snipers perched above the stadium during play. Everything went smoothly and the odds are it will again in June; the acid test may come four months later. Any major incidents would pose a flurry of awkward questions about the optimistic logic behind Euro 2027. For now, those planning the event hope to lay a platform for its success. Uefa points out the potential tourism and infrastructure benefits for both and preaches the potential of football to help smooth out a troubled past. Maybe it is right, or maybe football again overstates its role as panacea. Should they pull it off, the events of 2014 may finally fade from memory.
