Albanian footballer caught leading fans chanting ‘F*** Macedonia’ with megaphone, sparking more calls for UEFA to punish them as Serbia threatens to SHUT DOWN Euros

• Albanian Mirlind Daku was filmed leading fans’ derogatory chants
• Macedonian Federation will send appeal to UEFA against ‘nationalist chant’
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An Albanian footballer led supporters’ chants of “f*** Macedonia and f*** Serbs” with a megaphone after his team’s 2-2 draw with Croatia, footage posted on social media has revealed.

Mirlind Daku, 26, came off the bench in the thrilling Euro 2024 clash and helped her side secure a dramatic point late in the game, with compatriot Klaus Gjasula striking deep in injury time.

Footage taken shortly after the final whistle shows Daku holding a megaphone and shouting derogatory chants in Albanian, translated into English as “f*** Macedonia and f*** Serbs”, while making rallying gestures to supporters for them to join him.

Serbia, who England narrowly beat 1-0 in their Euro 2024 opener last Sunday, threatened to leave the tournament on Thursday if UEFA does not impose strict sanctions on Croatia and to Albania following offensive chants during the match.

Today, the Macedonian FA revealed that it will send an appeal to UEFA against the “nationalist chant” involving Daku.

We express our deep concern and unequivocal condemnation regarding the nationalist chants of Mirlind Daku, representative of Albania, directed against the Macedonian state after yesterday’s match between Croatia and Albania at the European Championship,” the country’s football federation said in a statement on Thursday.

“This behavior is unacceptable and contrary to the fundamental values ​​of sportsmanship and mutual respect promoted by football.

“Sport, especially football, is the basis for keeping people of different nationalities and an environment of cooperation and respect. Nationalist rhetoric, however, undermines these principles, fueling division and hostility between supporters and societies.

“The principles of political neutrality are enshrined in the regulations of international associations such as FIFA and UEFA. The Football Federation of Macedonia will send an official letter to UEFA for this scandalous behavior.

“We call on Albanian footballer Mirlind Daku to publicly apologize for his behavior, recognizing the damage he has caused.”

Both sets of fans could be heard shouting “Kill the Serbs” inside the stadium during the match, and Daku’s megaphone incident appears to have only sparked derogatory chants from supporters.

Serbia was also upset when a Kosovo TV journalist pointed an Albanian “eagle” sign at fans during a live broadcast of the opening match against England.

Arlind Sadiku, who works for the Artmotion television channel, was banned from the remainder of the tournament for “misconduct.”

“What happened is scandalous and we will demand sanctions from UEFA, even at the cost of stopping the competition,” declared the general secretary of the Serbian federation, Jovan Surbatovic.

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“We are sure that they will be punished, because they have already responded to our call to remove the so-called Albanian journalist from the championship.

“We will ask UEFA to sanction the federations of the two selections. We do not want to participate in this, but if UEFA does not punish them, we will think about how to proceed.

“We were punished for the fishing incidents and our fans behaved much better than others. A fan was fined for racist abuse and we don’t want this to be attributed to others. We, the Serbs, we are gentlemen and we have an open heart, so I call on the fans to remain gentlemen.

The animosity of Croats and Albanians towards Serbs has its origins in the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1995.

The first-ever meeting between Croatia and Serbia in 2013 was dubbed the “match of the decade” by media in both countries and tickets for the clash in the 34,000-seat stadium sold out within hours.

Although no outside fans were present in the stadium, 1,500 police officers patrolled during the match to prevent any outbreak of nationalism.

Similarly, when Serbia faced Albania for the first time as an independent nation, Euro 2016 qualifying turned into chaos on the pitch and in the stands – and the arrest of the prime minister’s brother Albanian.

UEFA had banned Albanian fans from attending the clash in Belgrade, but opted to allow the two countries to face each other, despite long-standing political tensions.

And when the Albanian flag – complete with a map of Kosovo and the message “autochthonous”, meaning indigenous – was flown above the field using a remote-controlled drone, chaos ensued.