Match vs. Albania to go ahead as planned, no security risks

According to Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, a teen boy threw a stone at the Serbian bus as it travelled from the airport to the team hotel in Tirana on Wednesday.

Anticipating another tense and potentially violent situation tonight, security officials at the FSS told Tanjug on Thursday that Serbia’s players are under “maximum security” and being guarded by police officers, a few of whom are Serbian police who travelled with the team. The Belgrade leg of the qualifier was marred by Serbian fans attacking Albanian players after a pro-Albanian flag was flown from an aerial drone above the pitch during the game.

“It’s easy to raise tension and to take the easy route of animosity instead of a more rational view of the future”, Vucic said Thursday.

AP reported last month that “soccer authorities in Albania are appealing to fans to be on their best behavior” for the new match.

Albania, now third in Group I with 11 points, also have to play Armenia on October 11 in Yerevan. “We sustained a lot of pressure at the start of the game and lost concentration for a spell in the second half”, said Serbia coach Radovan Curcic, whose team had already been eliminated.

Just as Albanian fans were banned from the first game, supporters of Serbia are barred from attending the return match in the polluted central industrial city of Elbasan, with the exception of 70 Serbian students. “Everyone knows what they have to do”, the Italian said. “They were expecting that moment to catch us by surprise in a counterattack. It’s a crucial game”.

Serbia, who were deducted three points following the Belgrade scuffle, moved off the bottom of the group courtesy of the win, but any hopes of qualification ended long ago.

Lufti Idliraku runs a small coffee shop opposite the 12,500-seat Elbasan Arena, and argued with customers over score predictions, danced to a passing street band and pulled a stuffed eagle, the national symbol, off his shelf.

“Our hard work has been left unrewarded up to now but we are back to winning ways and I am confident the trend will continue”, Curcic said. “I hope sport can make us overcome history, and not remind us of it”.