UEFA fines Serbian football association for fans’ racist behaviour

Serbia’s football federation has been formally penalised for racist acts by fans at two Nations League games, including one incident in Switzerland where supporters tried to burn an Albanian flag, UEFA announced on Friday.

At a Switzerland-Serbia game last month, visiting fans were filmed trying to set an Albanian flag alight. The Swiss team, including captain Granit Xhaka, typically fields players with family ties to both Albania and Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Belgrade does not recognise it as an independent state.

UEFA said its disciplinary committee had charged the Serbian federation for “racist and/or discriminatory behaviour” over the incident in Switzerland and another at a home game against Denmark three days later, along with other incidents such as fans displaying an “illicit banner”.

Also included in the list of unacceptable behaviours are using fireworks, throwing of objects, “acts of damage caused to the stadium and/or its installations”, and late kick-offs.

Serbia’s federation has now been banned from selling tickets for the team’s next two away games in UEFA competitions and must close parts of its stadium at two home games.

The first parts of the sanctions will apply in March when Serbia faces Austria in a two-leg Nations League promotion playoff.

UEFA also imposed fines totalling €173,000, €90,000 of which specifically relates to the acts of “racist and discriminatory behaviour” of its supporters.

UEFA and FIFA have previously charged the Serbian football association for repeated fan misconduct, including at Euro 2024 in Germany and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The European football body’s executive committee is expected to soon confirm Serbia and Albania as co-hosts of the Under-21 European Championship in 2027.