UEFA addresses complaint of Serbia’s withdrawal threat

Yesterday was Thursday Serbia threatened to pull out of Euro 2024 after screams were heard on Wednesday at the clash between Croatia and Albania in Hamburg. At several points during the meeting, chants of “kill the Serb” or “kill, kill the Serb” were heard.

UEFA addresses the complaint of the general secretary of the Serbian Federation, Jovan Surbatovicand opened an investigation into two Federations, Croatian and Albanian, for “possible racist and/or discriminatory behavior on the part of fans.”

Match where he also decided to open an investigation on the Albanian player Mirland Dakuwhich at the end of the match was accompanied by screams that were also made by Albanian fans from the stands against Macedonia where “f*** Macedonia” was heard. Both Federations are exposed to a financial fine as imposed by UEFA Serbia. In the case of a footballer, it could even mean a match ban.

Consequences if you abandon the competition

In the event that Serbia, or any other team, withdraws, UEFA sets certain consequences. First, “if an association refuses to play or is responsible for a match not being played or not being played in its entirety, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee will declare the match lost by the association in question.”

Furthermore, “if the circumstances of the case justify it, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee may impose on the association concerned any other disciplinary measure it deems appropriate, including disqualification from the competition. “

The same article 30 added that “The UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee can verify the result as at the time the match was suspended if the result of the match harms the association responsible for the suspension of the match.” ”

But the EURO Regulations also specify in point 3 of this article that “If an association is not qualified during the competition, the results of all its matches will be declared void and the points awarded will be lost. “

The regulations also state that it can be replaced by another, but not in this case, because the competition is already at stake. And it only contemplates the change before the start of the tournament: “If an association qualified for the final tournament does not compete, the UEFA administration may replace it and, in such a case, decide which association will replace it based on in the results obtained by the associations previously removed.”

The Federation making this decision, whether it refuses to play or is “responsible for a match not being played or not being played in its entirety, will lose all rights to receive payments from UEFA”.

Finally, UEFA, and upon receipt of a reasonable and well-documented request from the offending association or associations, the UEFA administration may set the amount of compensation to be paid for economic losses.