The Balkans country has withstood EU pressure to sanction Russia
A group of Serbian fans attending the Euro 2024 in Germany have been filmed chanting “Vladimir Putin!” and unfurling a Russian national flag, along with their own state and national symbols.
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) banned the display of Russian flags at the Ukraine-Romania game on Monday, after the tricolor was spotted in the stands of the Germany-Scotland and Serbia-England games the day before.
In a video making rounds on social media on Monday, a group of fans wearing Serbian national jerseys can be seen outside a church in Gelsenkirchen, chanting the name of the Russian president.
They also waved the Russian presidential flag, featuring the golden state seal in the center of the national tricolor, as well as the national flag of Serbia and the unofficial flag of Republika Srpska, the predominantly ethnic Serb portion of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
While national flags are allowed at the European football championship, the organizers have pointedly asked the fans to “leave all other flags at home.” According to German media, the authorities have been on the lookout for Russian, Israeli, or Palestinian flags in particular.
The Russian national team was banned from UEFA events shortly after the start of the Ukraine conflict, in February 2022.
UEFA’s ban has not stopped Albanian fans from brandishing flags of “Greater Albania” – an entity that envisions annexing parts of Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Greece – during the game against Italy on Saturday. One fan was photographed in the full uniform of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army, while others flew KLA flags as well. The ethnic Albanian separatists and NATO fought against Serbia in 1999. UEFA has opened a probe into the Albanian association for “provocative images,” as well as unauthorized pyrotechnics and a pitch invasion.
Several ethnic Albanians have also been implicated in Sunday’s brawl between England and Serbia fans in Gelsenkirchen, which resulted in half a dozen arrests and the deployment of 400 riot police.
A Czech soccer hooligan account has posted photos of Serbian ultras parading four captured English banners following the altercation.
The Euro 2024 championship kicked off on June 14 and will conclude on July 14.
