The match that will take place today at the 'Air Albania' stadium between Albania and Serbia has also received the attention of international media.
"The Guardian" has dedicated an article to the World Cup qualifying match between Albania and Serbia, reports A2 CNN.
The article in question states that today's match brings back memories of the tense challenge between the two teams in 2014, which was played in Belgrade.
Prestigjozja also mentions other details regarding this match, from anti-drone equipment to the police officers who are expected to take care of the smooth running of this meeting.
From the Belgrade match to the anti-drone equipment at this meeting, the well-known celebrity mentions everything.
The Guardian article:
Outside a cafe three blocks from the National Arena, two men stood on chairs and were assembling equipment on the protective tent.
Thursday lunch had just passed and Tirana was preparing for a match that could have filled the national stadium at least 10 times over. There was no difficulty in identifying the Albanian flag, the black double-headed eagle extending from its center.
The second flag being raised has also become commonplace. It bore the word “Autochthonous,” featuring a version of the “Greater Albania” map that turned a soccer match into a major diplomatic incident in 2014.
By Friday morning, that flag had been replaced with a less inflammatory version. Perhaps the authorities had come in for a “calm talk.” They want to eliminate any potential cause for unrest like the one that erupted in Belgrade 11 years ago, when a drone lowered the controversial image over Partizan’s stadium during a European Championship qualifier between Serbia and Albania. The consequences of that night went beyond sport, and there was general relief when, the following November, the return match in the Albanian city of Elbasan passed without major incident.
Faces certainly fell in the two countries' federations in December last year, when the draw for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers pitted them against each other. Eyebrows were raised on the international stage, but there was nothing to stop them from facing each other again: despite a long and bloody history, the freshest scars of which come from the war in ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo, the nations are not in active conflict. Neither had sought to avoid the other. It was inevitable that the problem of relations in the context of football would one day resurface.
No resources are being spared to resolve it. Around 2,000 police officers will be deployed for the first Group K match on Saturday night, including special forces and counter-terrorism. Sources also suggest that up to 500 plainclothes police will be among the 22,500 spectators. Foreign fans will not be present. Anti-drone equipment is being installed in the surrounding area and people have been warned that their devices will be shot down from the sky.
Any attempt at unrest will likely take a different form; drones were not as common in public life when the small craft caused chaos in Belgrade. But the measures taken are reminiscent of Ismail Morina, the bearded, innocuous-looking crane operator who was hailed as a national hero for accepting responsibility for the 2014 incident. Although it was not widely reported at the time, Morina had an accomplice who preferred to remain in the shadows.
Morina’s action came at a cost: he was arrested for illegal possession of weapons before Serbia’s visit in 2015, staying out of the public eye during that match. He was then jailed in Croatia and Italy, where he had a residence permit, according to a Serbian arrest warrant issued through Interpol. He has returned to Albanian stadiums, rising on the arms of fans in the match against the Czech Republic in 2023 and exchanging shirts with goal scorer Jasir Asani. He was last seen at domestic matches, but in the run-up to Saturday’s match, his former social media accounts have disappeared. If any of his acquaintances know where he is, they are not saying. It is assumed that he would not risk going near the stadium on Saturday.
He will not be the only ultra, past or present, to be kept away. The Albanian Football Federation has not sold group tickets to organised fans, but has distributed them by lottery from more than 200,000 applications and has increased the prices. This appears to be a deliberate attempt to “clean up” the atmosphere; the Red and Black Fans group, which creates the liveliest spectacle at national team matches, reacted strongly, calling it an “organised farce” in favour of the wealthy. They will organise an alternative meeting at the Tirana Pyramid, 400 metres from the stadium, where permission has been granted for a giant screen. On the black market, ticket prices have exceeded £1,000.
The fact that Albania and Serbia will co-host the 2027 European Under-21 Championship adds another dimension. If expectations are high for Saturday's hosts, they are equally high for European football's governing body, UEFA. Such an ambitious deal, pushed largely by the president of the Albanian Football Association and vice-chairman of the UEFA Executive Committee, Armand Duka, could look untenable if an incident occurs. Red and Black fans have expressed their opposition to the co-hosting both verbally and with visual symbols, and believe this has contributed to their exclusion.
The only distraction during Albania’s training session on Thursday evening was a few overzealous watermen, whose presence was not objected to in temperatures above 30°C. Elseid Hysaj, the Lazio defender, is the only current player who was at the chaotic Belgrade match. “We must not repeat the scenes of previous years,” he said. “The coach has asked us not to panic about this match. We need calm and emotional balance.”
Sylvinho, the coach in question and one of the most relatable characters in international football, joked as he played the ball with his assistants, but he is under pressure to deliver results. The same goes for Dragan Stojkovic, his counterpart. England, who complete the top five of Group K along with Latvia and Andorra, are seen as the sure winners by both camps. Albania and Serbia know they are fighting for a place in the play-offs and the matches between them – the second to be played in four months – will be decisive.
At 1:40 p.m. local time on Friday, Serbia’s players arrived at their hotel a mile west of central Tirana. Armed officers from RENEA, Albania’s anti-terrorist force, surrounded two buses that had traveled from the airport under escort. The first step of an operation that will last through the weekend went smoothly. If all goes well, perhaps the shadow of October 14, 2014, will finally begin to fade. (A2 Televizion)
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