In 2007, UEFA fined Serbia €24,000 after fans directed monkey chants at black players during a European Under-21 Championship match against England.
In 2012, again against England Under-21s, Serbia fined €80,000, forced to play the next under-21 match behind closed doors, and several coaches and players banned due to racist chanting and violent scenes.
2013, Under 21s vs Belgium - UEFA ordered parts of the stadium closed, a “No to Racism” banner displayed, and a public anti-racism statement made by the captain, due to monkey chants.
2023 – Euro 2024 qualifier vs Montenegro - Serbian fans directed racist chants at Montenegro. The Football Association of Serbia (FSS) was fined €90,000 and the following home match was played behind closed doors.
June 2024, Gelsenkirchen - UEFA launched an investigation into alleged monkey chants against black England players, plus object-throwing and nationalist banners.
December 2024 – Nations League matches vs Switzerland & Denmark - Serbia’s fans tried to burn an Albanian flag in Switzerland and displayed illicit banners. UEFA fined the FSS €173,000 total (specifically for racist/discriminatory behaviour), banned them from selling tickets to their next two away games, and imposed partial stadium closures.
Enough.
England's men's team play in Belgrade tomorrow night. The England players have reportedly been discussing what to do if racist abuse is directed against their (particularly black) players. There's basically a choice between following UEFA protocols - basically reporting the incidents and the FSS gets more fines and stadium bans - and the nuclear option of just walking off the pitch and refusing to continue, which would probably mean they forfeit the match and lose points.
I don't believe any England fan would blame the players if they did that. Serbia has had 18 years of their supporters behaving like this and the FSS getting "punished" and clearly nothing has worked.
There is the option of the referee suspending, ultimately even abandoning, the match. Which would result in an enquiry followed possibly by the opposing team being awarded a notional 3-0 victory. It's in the regulations but I couldn't find any instance of it happening.
One more occurrence - tomorrow or later - should result in the Serbian national teams being banned from competitive matches for, say, five years. Otherwise nothing will change.
Let's hope nothing happens.
Just look at their history. The break up of Yugoslavia unleashed horrors and violence and hatred of the other became normalised. So, they need to know if they want to continue to play with European teams they need to modify their views and their behaviour. Otherwise kick them out. No matter how much money the billionaires give to the corrupt leaderships in all countries, racist chanting and behaviour should be condemned and Serbia removed from all competitions. It’s the only way they will learn.
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