UEFA issue official response to Serbia's threat to quit Euro 2024 as investigation launched into Croatia and Albania fan chants
UEFA have launched an investigation after Serbia threatened to quit Euro 2024 over alleged chants by Croatia and Albania fans.
Serbia made a formal complaint to UEFA about the behaviour of Croatia and Albania supporters during their 2-2 draw in Hamburg on Wednesday.
The Football Association of Serbia claimed that Croatia and Albania fans chanted "Ubi, Ubi, Ubi, Srbina" [Kill, kill, kill the Serb] during the match.
Speaking ahead of Serbia's Group C draw with Slovenia on Thursday, Serbia FA general secretary Jovan Surbatovic threatened that Serbia could withdraw from the tournament over the incident.
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Surbatovic said: “First of all, I want to thank our fans for their support in the match against England and I hope we will beat Slovenia.
"What happened is scandalous and we will ask UEFA for sanctions, even if it means not continuing the competition. If Uefa doesn’t punish them, we will think about how to proceed."
On Thursday UEFA released a statement saying they had launched "an investigation regarding potential racist and/or discriminatory conduct by supporters."
Earlier this week Serbia were charged by UEFA for the actions of their supporters during their 1-0 defeat to England on Sunday.
Serbia fans displayed a banner that "transmitted a provocative message unfit for a sports event"and threw objects inside the stadium in Gelsenkirchen.
The charge was issued after the Kosovo Football Federation complained to UEFA about "Serbian fans displaying political, chauvinistic, and racist messages against Kosovo."
On that charge, Surbatovic said: "We were punished for isolated cases and our fans behaved much better than the others.
"One fan was punished for racist insults and we don’t want it to be attributed to others. We Serbs are gentlemen and we have an open heart."
Ahead of their 1-1 draw with Slovenia on Thursday, a large group of Serbia fans in Munich's Marienplatz chanted "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia."
Alex Brotherton