Serbia and Switzerland’s group finale at the World Cup was marred by a FIFA announcement that asked fans to “stop discriminatory shouts and gestures” and a late melee between players from both sides.
The message came over the tannoy system at Stadium 974 in the second half of a stormy clash that Switzerland won 3-2 to secure a place in the last 16.
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A quickfire double from Breel Embolo and Remu Freuler either side of the interval tilted the game decisively in Switzerland’s favour after Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic had responded to Xherdan Shaqiri’s 20th-minute opener.
Shaqiri, who caused controversy with an eagle celebration in a 2-1 win over Serbia in Russia four years ago, put his finger to his mouth after being jeered.
But tempers flared midway through the second half when a Mitrovic penalty appeal was dismissed, prompting Serbian staff to spill from the dugout. Embolo had to be ushered away from his opponents as the game took a bad-tempered turn.
A stadium announcement was then made around 15 minutes from the end of the game.
FIFA’s anti-discrimination measures include a “reactive stadium announcement without interrupting the match,” before a three-step procedure that can see a game stopped, suspended or abandoned.
Granit Xhaka and Nikola Milenkovic later sparked a melee in a final flare-up. Both players were booked for the injury-time clash before the whistle called time on a result that saw Switzerland finish second in Group G behind Brazil on goal difference.
FIFA is yet to confirm if any further action will be taken over any of the incidents.
Serbia’s Dragan Stojkovic attempted to play down the flashpoints, saying: “Maybe there was something between the players about the provocations, I can’t give an answer, I don’t know what they said. Sometimes the tension is high and something can be created. Nothing special for this type of game”.
Asked about his exchange with the Serbian bench, Embolo said: “It’s part of the game. The most important is that after the game we checked that everything is good. That was the case today, everything is forgotten and that’s for me the fair play.”
Switzerland manager Murat Yakin admitted his side had expended plenty of emotion during a game in which referee Fernando Rapallini showed 11 yellow cards.
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Asked about Xhaka — who was charged by FIFA along with Shaqiri over the ‘eagle’ celebration against Serbia in 2018 — and the string of incidents, Yakin said: “I saw Granit focus on football. It was a fair game. It was a normal exchange with a bit of emotions. It cost us a lot of power and a lot of emotions. We started well, took the lead but then we lost possession twice and fell behind.
“But my players deserve a huge compliment for the way they came back.”
Switzerland have now reached the last 16 of every World Cup and European Championship since 2014 and will meet Group H winners Portugal on Tuesday for a place in the quarter-finals.
(Photo: Getty Images)