Switzerland’s Football Federation has denied that Russia asked it to ban fans from flying Greater Albanian or Kosovo flags during Friday’s match with Serbia in Kaliningrad, as some Serbian media reported.
The governing body for Swiss football has dismissed as baseless reports in the Serbian media that Russia had urged the Swiss Football Federation to ban “Greater Albania” or Kosovo flags and symbols during Friday’s match between Switzerland and Serbia in Kaliningrad.
“No idea what you are writing about flags, nor FIFA, nor Russia … regarding flags in the Kaliningrad stadium on Friday,” the Swiss Football Federation told BIRN in a statement. “No issues, at all,” it added.
Ethnic tension surrounds the match in Kaliningrad – which has nothing to do with the Swiss – owing to the fact that four players in the Swiss team are of Albanian origin, three of them from Kosovo – Granit Xhaka, Valon Behrami, Xherdan Shaqiri and Blerim Dzemaili.
“Russia warned the Swiss Federation to prevent flags related to Greater Albania or Kosovo,” the Serbian media outlet Novosti reported on Thursday.
The Swiss Football Federation said that whatever the ongoing political and historical issues between Serbs and Albanians, sport should not be politicised.
“We never want to have any political messages in stadiums, no matter whether they are flag-based or otherwise,” the soccer federation wrote.
At the match scheduled for Friday at 8pm in Russia, Kosovo Albanians – who have no team of their own in the World Cup – are preparing to support the Swiss team instead.
Tension between Serbs and Albanians in the Balkans remains high, especially over the hot issue of Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
In the now notorious October 2014 match in Belgrade between the Serbian and Albaniam national teams, a drone flew over the pitch carrying a “Greater Albania” flag, causing chaos both on the pitch and off.
For more read the full of article at The Balkaninsight
