Much more than World Cup promotion was at stake during Friday’s World Cup match between Switzerland and Serbia. Several of the Swiss stars have Kosovar Albanian roots, and earlier in the championship the international football federation (Fifa) opened a disciplinary case against Serbia, based on a picture of a flag from the Serbian dressing room. The flag in question showed the outline of Serbia’s lands, with Kosovo incorporated as part of it. Above the map were the words “no surrender”. Kosovo seceded from Serbia in 2008, but is not recognized as an independent state by Serbia. Friday’s settlement was therefore also about honour, prestige and history, and it did not take long before the political background became visible. When Serbia took a 2-1 lead in the first half, Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic was caught on camera uttering what is understood to be a condescending phrase towards Switzerland’s Albanian players (and their mothers). – Showing his true self Kosovo’s former foreign minister Meliza Haradinaj reacted immediately: – The racism of Serbia’s Stojkovic caught on camera, while swearing at Kosovo Albanian mothers, writes Haradinaj, adding that she is waiting for the organizer to take action against “this cowardly, shameful the action”. Edvar Celina perceived Stojkovic’s outburst in the same way: – This just shows what they think about Albanians. Here they show their true selves, he says to news. He is the father of Kosovo’s national team player Bersant Celina, who came to Norway as a refugee from Kosovo. – This is completely unacceptable, adds Celina. It is not possible to hear what the coach actually says, but the response on social media shows that many people read the statements the same way. news has not yet received a response from the Serbian Football Association or Fifa about the episode. – Normally in this type of match Two of Switzerland’s biggest stars, Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri, both have Kosovar Albanian roots. Both Xhaka and Shaqiri scored when the teams met in the 2018 World Cup, and celebrated by making an eagle with their hands – which is seen as an Albanian national symbol. On Friday, they were again at the center of events. Shaqiri scored the first goal of the match, but without celebrating with an eagle this time. Xhaka was involved in several cases of high temperature out on the pitch. First, he gestured out to the Serbian bench by taking a step halfway through the second half. HISTIG: Xhaka made some clear messages in the direction of the Serbia bench. – By listening to my voice, you can hear that it is quite hoarse. It is a game where there is a lot of emotion involved, said the Arsenal star at the press conference after the game. There, Serbia coach Stojkovic was also asked if he heard what was said. – I can’t say why it happened and what happened, really. But sometimes tensions are high, and some bad words can create some uncomfortable behavior. But it’s nothing special. It is normal in this type of battle, he believes. In overtime, Serbia’s goalkeeper Vanja Milinković-Savić took a stranglehold on the Switzerland profile when several players barked together. Switzerland eventually won the match 3-2, and is thus through to the round of 16, while Serbia has been eliminated from the World Cup. AMPERT: The whole match was characterized by a very high temperature. Photo: MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP
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Demands Fifa reaction after Dragan Stojkovic was allegedly racist during World Cup match in Qatar – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
