Serbia threaten to withdraw from Euro 2024 over offensive 'kill the serbs' chant by Croatia fans

Serbia have threatened to withdraw from Euro 2024 if alleged offensive chants by Albanian and Croatian fans go unpunished. Supporters from Croatia and Albania have been accused of singing anti-Serbian songs, reportedly including the phrase “Kill the Serbs,” during the entertaining 2-2 draw between their teams in Hamburg.

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Serbia threaten to quit Euro 2024

In response, the Serbian Football Association released a statement. The general secretary of the organization, Jovan Surbatovic, stated, “What happened is scandalous, and we will demand sanctions from UEFA, even if it means not continuing in the competition.”

“We will request Uefa to punish the federations of both selections. We don’t want to participate in that, but if Uefa doesn’t punish them, we will think how will we proceed.

“We were punished for isolated cases and our fans behave much better than the others.”

UEFA announced that the Serbian FA has been fined €14,500 for breaking two rules during their loss against England. They were fined €4,500 for the “throwing of objects” by fans and an additional €10,000 for “transmitting a provocative message not fit for a sports event.”

The fine was imposed after Serbian fans displayed a national flag that included Kosovo, a former republic, within Serbian borders. Kosovan officials alerted UEFA to flags, chants, and banners they claimed contained “political, chauvinistic, and racist messages” against their country.

About the banners, Surbatovic said: “One fan was punished for racist insults and we don’t want it to be attributed to others.
“We Serbs are gentlemen and we have an open heart, so I appeal to the fans to remain gentlemen.”

The lead-up to Serbia's 1-0 defeat to England was marred by fan clashes in Gelsenkirchen, with videos circulating on social media showing men throwing chairs at each other.