Serbia fans sang about killing Albanians, says report

Reports have surfaced that some Serbia fans sang songs about killing Albanians during a World Cup match on Friday.

Serbia lost to Switzerland 3-2 on the night, as the defeat dropped the southeastern European team from the competition. Some Swiss players have family ties to Albania and Kosovo.

The Guardian reports that some Serbian supports displayed fascist slogans on garments and chanted racist songs towards ethnic Albanians throughout the match. The findings were backed up by a fan inside of the 974 Stadium in Doha.

Stadium officials hypocritical on rules

Hasan Rrahmani claimed that he had an Albanian flag confiscated by stadium officials prior to the game. The fan also said that while the flag was not allowed at the venue, other derogatory slogans on clothing were permitted inside the stadium.

“I was completely dumbfounded to see the number of fascist slogans, t-shirts, and flags,” said Rrahmani.

He supposedly showed the outlet photos of a Serbian fan wearing a hat that symbolized brutality of the Kosovo Wars. The man in question was part of a larger group that also wore similar clothing.

Rrahmani claimed that some Serbian fans wore t-shirts with the slogan “Serbia to Tokyo” on the chest.

This saying originated in 1991 when Red Star Belgrade won the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo, Japan. At the time it was the greatest success that a team from Yugoslavia ever produced.

However, the slogan has since been used by some Serbians to taunt ethnic groups beginning in the Yugoslav Wars.

Abhorrent chants heard throughout match

The songs were, however, noticed by FIFA officials.

A public address asking for the chants to stop was issued inside the stadium at the 77th minute mark. However, Rrahmani says that the songs could be heard from the opening minutes of the match.

Some of the chants from the Serbian fans reportedly translated to “kill, kill, kill the Albanians” and “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia.”

Kosovo has been the subject of much debate in recent years. Although they officially declared independence from Serbia in 2008, Serbia does not recognize the decision.

Switzerland stars Granit Xhaka and Xerdan Shaqiri previously made headlines when they made gestures reminiscent of the Albanian flag when they both scored against Serbia at the 2018 World Cup.

Serbia is also already under investigation by FIFA for a previous incident at the 2022 World Cup. They displayed a flag showing Kosovo as part of Serbia with the words “we do not surrender” during their matchup with Brazil.

Photo credit: IMAGO / Agencia MexSport