Serbia-Albania Ends in Brawl, Politics Should Stay out of Sports
In a world where divides exist in culture, religion, opinions and politics, where can we find release? For most, its in football (soccer) or in sports. During the year which lead up to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, many reports accused the country of mistreating workers, failing at seeking resolution for internal structure or spending and many more problems which in the North American, are out of our reach. But the tournament beheld and ran smoothly, despite the constant tensions with citizens and politics.
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On Wednesday a Euro 2016 qualifying match between Serbia and Albania was abandoned due to a political statement, causing unnecessary unrest between the players and of course the fans. What was witnessed was an outbreak of violence on the pitch between players, as well as an attack on the Albanian players from which it is said, by telegraph.uk that “Olsi Rama [brother of Albanian Prime Minister] controlled a drone from his seat in an executive box in the stadium, carrying a ‘Greater Albania’ flag which flew over the pitch, triggering clashes between the teams as some of the 20,000 home fans tried to assault Albanian players.”.
What furthered the conflict was the participation of Aleksandar Mitrovic, striker for Serbia and Anderlecht, pulling the banner into clear view as it flew down from the sky. Although the scuffle did not last long, what is worse is the exit of the Albanian national team who going in the tunnel, were pelted with garbage or so it looked. “Relations between Tirana and Belgrade have been fragile over Kosovo, a former Serbian province, and the ethnic Albanian minority in southern Serbia, who often demand more autonomy” as reported by telegraph.uk. And this may be so, but is it the responsibility of footballers and a game to identify this struggle?
As reported by the guardian.com, the tensions run deep in the history of either side. But should it run so far that it interferes with sport? A past time and a leisure for most? “the map suspended from the drone showed a map of a “Greater Albania” including Kosovo and parts of Macedonia. On either side were portraits of two heroes from Albania’s war of independence against the Ottoman Empire. The country that the Albanians thought they were going to get after the collapse of the Ottomans was cut in half at an international conference in London in 1912-13, and the Albanians have never forgotten. Similarly, the Serbs have not forgotten, or accepted, the loss of Kosovo”
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What I find the most frightening is the tensions it orchestrated between fans. Football hooliganism used to be a huge problem in English football, and seems to still remain in Eastern Europe. This kind of behavior gives fans an accessible excuse to hurt one another on behalf of a sport or their role model athletes who may believe this sort of thing is okay.
What needs to be addressed more than anything, is that politics simply have no home in football or sports in general. Sports should not be used an excuse to create avenues for aggression between players, teams and most definitely fans–who in some cases look for outlets of aggression on any platform, big or small. Football (soccer) is a very passionate sport, with probably the most passionate fans in the world, thus this fine line between passion and explosion can easily be crossed. The protection of fans is necessary; as necessary at it is for the athletes.
As reported by theguardian.com, “Abandonment of European qualifier is the latest chapter in a long history of grudges and conflict in the Balkans”. The unfortunate truth but with a hopeful move forward.