UEFA suspends Albanian striker Mirlind Daku for two matches after “inciting fans to chant ‘f*** Macedonia’ and ‘f*** Serbs’ with a megaphone”, following the 2-2 draw against Croatia.
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UEFA suspended Albanian player Mirlind Daku for two Euro 2024 matches on Sunday after leading supporters into nationalist chants.
European football’s governing body released a statement confirming that Daku was banned “for using sporting events for demonstrations of a non-sporting nature and for bringing football into disrepute.”
Daku took to a megaphone after Albania’s 2-2 draw with Croatia on Wednesday in Hamburg and joined in the slogans against Serbia and North Macedonia.
He led chants with fans that translated to: “F*** Macedonia!” » and ‘F*** Serbs!’.
Daku released a statement admitting he may have offended, but did not appear to offer a full apology.
UEFA suspended Mirlind Daku for two matches for singing “f*** Serbs”
Daku released a lengthy statement on social media before UEFA imposed a two-match ban.
UEFA released a statement confirming that Daku was suspended for two matches for “failure to respect the general principles of conduct, for violation of the fundamental rules of good conduct, for using sporting events for demonstrations of a non-sporting nature and for bringing the sport.” discredited football.
The Macedonian FA had confirmed that it would contact UEFA over Daku’s actions, while opposing the “nationalist chant” involving Daku.
The striker’s actions were also cited by the Serbian FA in a letter to UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis, which formally asked the governing body to sanction Albania and Croatia.
UEFA confirmed that it had fined the Albanian FA a total of €47,500 (£40,000) for incidents that occurred during the match.
This included setting off fireworks, invading the pitch and “transmitting provocative messages not appropriate for a sporting event”.
The Croatian FA was also fined €28,000 (£23,600) for throwing and lighting fireworks.
The UEFA investigation into the chants of Albanian and Croatian supporters continues.
During the match, both groups of fans could be heard chanting “Kill the Serbs!”, prompting the Serbian football federation to declare that it would leave the tournament if UEFA did not punish the incidents.
UEFA is continuing its investigation after Albanian and Croatian fans were allegedly heard chanting “Kill the Serbs” during their match in Hamburg.
UEFA has already charged the Serbian FA with two offenses following their defeat against England on Sunday in Gelsenkirchen – namely throwing objects and transmitting a provocative message “unsuitable for a sporting event”.
The latter would be linked to the exhibition of a flag linked to a paramilitary movement engaged in ethnic cleansing during the Yugoslav wars.
The governing body also launched an investigation into claims monkey noises were directed at England players during the clash.
An inspector has been appointed to carry out a disciplinary investigation “regarding alleged discriminatory behaviour” – although a resolution is not expected until after the group stages.
Serbia could continue their action after fans threw bottles onto the pitch during their 1-1 draw with Slovenia on Thursday.
Albania play their final Group B match against Spain on Monday – a match which could prove decisive for second place in the group.
