The suspension comes after the Albanian striker apologized for leading fans in derogatory chants against Croatia at Euro 2024.
The Albanian football federation said UEFA banned its player Mirlind Daku for two games at the European Championships after he led fans in nationalist chants.
Daku grabbed a megaphone after Albania’s 2-2 draw with Croatia on Wednesday in Hamburg and shouted slogans against Serbia and North Macedonia.
The Albanian federation also said on Sunday that UEFA had imposed fines totaling 47,250 euros ($50,500) for incidents at the game, where its fans joined Croatian fans in shouting an anti-Serb slogan.
The Serbian football federation said it would abandon the tournament if UEFA did not punish the incidents.
Albania play a decisive group stage game on Monday against Spain.
Daku later apologized for his actions in a social media post as UEFA appointed an internal investigator to look into his “alleged inappropriate behavior”.
The 26-year-old forward began playing for Albania last year after using his rights under FIFA rules to change his eligibility from Kosovo, the former ethnic Albanian province of Serbia that declared independence 16 years ago. after a war that killed 10,000 civilians. the vast majority are Kosovo Albanians. Serbia has refused to recognize Kosovo’s statehood, considering it part of Serbia, and tensions persist.
UEFA also announced charges against its Albanian and Croatian member associations for “potential racist and/or discriminatory conduct” by fans on Wednesday, who allegedly chanted “Kill the Serbs” in Serbian.
Croatia was previously part of Serb-dominated Yugoslavia, declaring independence in 1991, which led to a four-year war, part of the broader conflict sparked by the breakup of Yugoslavia.
The Albanian Football Federation, or FSHF, called on fans to be “responsible and avoid incidents and riots”.
“The FSHF invites fans and football lovers to support the Albanian team until the end on this magical and historic path to Euro 2024, showing citizenship and responsibility through correct behavior and respecting the rules and opponents”, says a statement.
Albania impressed at Euro 2024 with an opening 2-1 defeat against Italy and then a 2-2 draw with Croatia. The team will likely need to beat Spain to advance.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
