With Serbia eliminated and their opponents still in the fight for qualification, Albania coach Gianni De Biasi said his players were focused on trying to win the game.
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Authorities in Belgrade said the drone flight was a “premeditated political provocation”, but Albania argued the trouble started before then, when Serbian fans chanted “Death to Albanians” and “Kill Albanians”.
ELBASAN, Albania (AP) – Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said he will not attend Thursday’s qualifier for the European soccer championships in Albania, saying he does not want heated fan rivalry to undermine progress made in relations between the two Balkan countries.
Security is tight for the bitter rivals’ meeting on Thursday in the central city of Elbasan, after last October’s match had to be halted when violence broke out both on and off the field.
Long at odds over the independence of Serbia’s former Kosovo province, Albania and Serbia met on the football pitch in October previous year amid hopes of a thaw in relations but the game was abandoned after a drone flew over the stadium carrying a flag depicting “Greater Albania” and triggered a brawl between players.
Serbian media reported that no one was injured in the incident, which occurred on Wednesday night when a teenager threw a stone at the bus carrying the Serbs from the airport to a hotel in Tirana, Efe reported.
Albanian soccer fans chat slogans before the group I Euro 2016…
The match, like the one in Belgrade, will be played without the presence of away supporters, except for 70 Serbian students who are in Albania for a European project.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama issued an apology for attack on the bus and told press that whichever side won Thursday’s match “it is important to do so with decency”.
Thousands of fans gathered in a party atmosphere ahead of the Group I game In Elbasan, where buildings were draped with national red and black colors.
“These kind of games are the most straightforward”.
“Personally, I think we’ll win it 1-0”.
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“We all want to spoil their plans and beat them so that they do not qualify”, Serbian goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic said recently. “I don’t want to clench my fist but score a goal”, he said. “It’s a crucial game”. The Court of Arbitration for Sport awarded Albania three points, overturning an initial UEFA ruling, which declared Albania to have lost the match and Serbia was deducted three points.
