Serbia boss addresses Euros menace after punishment for rule breaking vs England
Serbia’s Euro 2024 hopes hung by a thread in Germany – just hours after they threatened to walk out on the tournament.
Luka Jovic turned hero with a dramatic 96th-minute leveller to snatch a draw against Slovenia in Munich, leaving manager Dragan Stojkovic praising his squad’s never-say-die attitude. It came after a tumultuous 24 hours for his nation.
First, UEFA announced the Serbian Football Association had been fined €14,500 after two rules were broken in their Euro 2024 loss against England on Sunday. They were charged over the “throwing of objects” by their supporters during the 1-0 defeat in Gelsenkirchen and for “transmitting a provocative message not fit for a sports event”, over which they were then fined €4,500 and €10,000 respectively.
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That came as the Serbian FA put out their own statement slamming UEFA for not disciplining Albania and Croatia fans for anti-Serb chants in Hamburg. The accusation was that both sets of supporters chanted: “Kill, kill, kill the Serb” during the second half of Wednesday’s electrifying 2-2 draw.
Serbia’s general secretary Jovan Surbatovic declared: “What happened is scandalous and we will ask UEFA for sanctions, even if it means not continuing the competition.” However, head coach Stojkovic sidestepped the controversy, insisting he was oblivious to the statement, reports the Mirror.
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He proclaimed: “First of all, Serbs do not die so easily. We do not give up and will not give up. We believed all the way until the end and the result came as a reward for believing.”
When questioned over Surbatovic’s threat, he then continued: “Please, ask me something about the game. It’s not my intention to talk about this, it’s not important. Honestly speaking I didn’t read anything. Believe it or not but I didn’t.”
Serbia was left ruing missed opportunities when Slovenia took the lead in the 69th minute. Timi Max Elsnik, who had previously hit the woodwork, sent a dangerous ball across the goal for right-back Zan Karnicnik to score.
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Despite this, Serbia continued to create chances. Mitrovic and Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic struggled to find the back of the net despite scoring a combined total of 58 goals for their clubs this season.
Mitrovic had a close miss at the back post before Jan Oblak made two impressive saves to deny the former Fulham player. Then Jovic demonstrated his skill, scoring from a corner and breaking Slovenian hearts as Matjaz Kek’s team fell to their knees in despair.
Klaus Gjasula’s 95th-minute equaliser for Albania against Croatia set a new record for the latest goal in European Championships history, but that record barely lasted 24 hours.
