FIFA opens proceedings regarding Serbia-Switzerland game

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FIFA said it has opened several disciplinary proceedings regarding the Serbia-Switzerland game played within the second round of the group stage at the World Cup.

The Swiss team won against Serbia in a match played in Kaliningrad on Friday, while the goal celebration by Swiss team members Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka triggered many reactions. Namely, the players who are ethnic Albanians and of Kosovo heritage celebrated with a gesture which appeared to imitate the eagle displayed on Albania's flag. The celebratory gesture they made risked raising political tensions between Serbia and its former province, Kosovo, whose independence Serbia did not recognise.

FIFA said it launched the procedure against the two players, and Serbia's Football Association is risking to face the procedures on two grounds. Reportedly, Serbia's supporters shouted political and offending slogans, while the Serbia coach Mladen Krstajic's post-game statements were found disputable as well.

Krstajic was quoted by media as saying that Serbia's team was “robbed” and that “if he could do something, he would send the referee to The Hague, where he would be tried as they did to us.” A controversy of these words lies in the fact that The Hague was a home to the UN's war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

The Football Association of Serbia submitted a complaint against the performance of German referee Felix Brych in the match, assessing it as partial.