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muriel_volestrangler

(103,828 posts)
6. Serbia aren't exactly innocent in this
Sun Jun 24, 2018, 02:17 PM
Jun 2018
Shaqiri, who was born in Kosovo, played with the Kosovan flag stitched to one boot and the Swiss flag stitched on the other. Xhaka’s parents are from Kosovo and are of Albanian heritage. The Arsenal midfielder’s father was imprisoned and beaten in the former Yugoslavia for campaigning in favour of Kosovan independence and his brother Taulant plays for Albania’s national team.
...
Those players had been whistled by a crowd in which it appeared most Russians in the stadium supported Serbia. There were chants of “Serbia-Russia! Serbia-Russia” and a banner declared the two countries “brothers”.
...
The buildup to the match had seen exchanges between Serbia players and Shaqiri. Mitrovic, who scored Serbia’s goal, asked: “If he loves Kosovo so much and decides to flaunt the flag, why did he refuse a chance to play for their team?”

There were a couple of clashes between the pair on the pitch too. At one point, Mitrovic leant forward to say something to Shaqiri when he was on the floor, covering his mouth with his hand as he did so. “I didn’t understand, maybe he spoke Serbian to me,” Shaqiri said. “I had told him already to keep calm and do his job… Of course the Serbian fans were whistling, that’s normal, no? We knew it was going to come but we kept calm. Both teams played with respect and that’s important.”

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jun/23/xhaka-and-shaqiri-goal-celebrations-bring-balkan-politics-to-world-cup

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