UEFA has banned Albanian player Mirlind Daku for two matches for using a megaphone to chant derogatory words against Macedonia.
The ban was imposed “for failure to comply with the general principles of conduct, for breaching the basic rules of good behaviour, for using sporting events for non-sporting displays and for denigrating football,” UEFA said. This means that he will miss Albania’s final group match against Spain, which will be crucial for their progress, as well as a possible round of 16 match.
Daku: “Sorry if I offended anyone”
After the match against Croatia in Hamburg, Daku grabbed the megaphone in front of the Albanian fans and started chanting. Daku had previously written on Facebook: “Sorry if I offended anyone.”
In addition, the Albanian association must pay a fine of 25,000 euros for a provocative message, UEFA announced without giving any details. Further fines totaling 22,500 euros were imposed for pyrotechnics and other offenses.
Investigations into chants continue
UEFA said it was still investigating possible racist and/or discriminatory chants by fans of Albania and Croatia, who had chanted “Ubi, ubi, ubi Srbina!” (“Kill, kill, kill the Serb!”).
It was one of numerous incidents at the 2024 European Championship that fell into the realm of right-wing extremism and excessive nationalism.
