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Fan escorted out of Switzerland's win over Serbia after making gesture in the crowd

Fan escorted out of Switzerland's win over Serbia after making gesture in the crowd

Switzerland's 3-2 win was enough to see them qualify from Group G.

A Switzerland fan was escorted out of Friday's 3-2 win over Serbia at the World Cup after performing the Albanian double-eagle celebration.

Goals from Xherdan Shaqiri, Breel Embolo and Remo Freuler were enough to send Switzerland through in second place in Group G at the expense of Serbia.

The fixture has geopolitical undertones, which results in fireworks whenever the two national teams meet on the pitch. The double-eagle gesture represents Albania's national flag, seen as a way to provoke Serbia nationalists.

One supporter inside Stadium 974 performed the gesture before being led away by security. Check out the video below.

The woman sat among Serbia supporters while making the gesture. Assumedly to stop the situation from becoming tenser, she was taken away.

Several Switzerland players were born in the old Yugoslavia, including Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka. Both know of the oppression caused by Serbia and even performed the gesture back in 2018 during a World Cup group game.

Shaqiri was born in Kosovo but was forced to leave the country as a child. Meanwhile, Xhaka's father spent three years as a political prisoner after campaigning for Kosovo's independence.

Shaqiri and Xhaka in 2018. (Image
Alamy)

Rather than the double-eagle, Chicago Fire winger Shaqiri opted to shush the Serbia fans after scoring inside 20 minutes.

Goals from Alexsander Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic put Serbia ahead before Embolo's equaliser just before halftime.

After the break, Freuler finished off a fine team move to wrap up all three points and passage to the next round alongside group winners Brazil.

Xhaka still managed to find himself amid the controversy, however.

Xhaka is confronted by Serbia players. (Image
Alamy)

Just past the hour mark, the Arsenal midfielder decided to grab his crotch while looking directly at the Serbia bench.

It saw them all get onto their feet to approach the 30-year-old, who had a massive smile on his face throughout.

Serbia manager Dragan Stojkovic was even forced to bring his players back into the pitch after they tried to get to Xhaka.

Switzerland will face Portugal on Tuesday evening for a place in the quarter-finals.

Featured Image Credit: @Mockneyrebel/Twitter

Topics: Switzerland, Serbia, Football World Cup