The Serbian Football Federation has started moving to change the venue for the upcoming match against Albania, valid for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, asking UEFA to hold the match not in Belgrade, but in another city, as far away as possible from the Serbian capital.
After the heavy 5:0 defeat that Serbia suffered at home against England, the situation has taken on complicated proportions, not only in terms of sport, but also in terms of security. The match with Albania, which is expected to decide the fate of the second place in the group and consequently the qualification for the play-offs, was initially scheduled to be held at the “Rajko Mitić” stadium (known as Marakana) in Belgrade, with a capacity of around 52 thousand seats.
However, the Serbian Football Federation is seriously considering the possibility of moving this match to the Leskovac stadium, “Doçica”, with a much more limited capacity of only 8 thousand seats. The decision comes due to security concerns, as Serbian authorities are finding it difficult to control their hooligans, while the fear of a repeat of past events is high.
The general secretary of the Football Federation of Serbia, Branko Radujko, in a statement to the Tanjug agency, stressed the importance of this match:
"Now the next one is only three weeks away, at least then the training begins for the most important match in the qualifiers, for the match with Albania, which will directly decide who will go to the playoffs for the World Cup."
He added that the federation's wish is for the duel to be played in Leskovac:
"We are working intensively to obtain approval for the change of location for that match. Leskovci is an environment where the national team has always prepared in peace, where it has been welcomed with unstinting support in an extremely positive atmosphere and where it has recorded some very important positive results. I am confident that we will play there, in Leskovci."
On the other hand, after the recent events in the match against England, disciplinary measures are also expected from UEFA, which could include holding the next match without fans in attendance, in addition to a hefty financial fine.
The combination of the risk of violent clashes, the difficulty of managing radical fans and possible penalties from UEFA seems to have forced the Serbian organizers to look for a safer alternative, moving the match as far away as possible from the center of tensions, Belgrade.
