Albania forward Mirlind Daku has been suspended at Euro 2024 by UEFA for chants he made after his nation's draw with Croatia.
The 26-year-old, who plays his football in the Russian Premier League for Rubin Kazan, is alleged to have shouted “f*** Macedonia” and “f*** Serbs” into a megaphone. Albania face Spain in their final Group B encounter on Monday knowing they must beat Luis de la Fuente's side.
UEFA’s forced intervention into the matter followed a threat from the Football Association of Serbia (FSS) that it would consider quitting Euro 2024 if action was not taken against the remarks made by Daku.
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UEFA's two-game sentence was described as a punishment on Daku for “failing to comply with the general principles of conduct, for violating the basic rules of decent conduct, for using sports events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature and for bringing the sport of football into disrepute.”
Additionally, the Football Association of Albania (FSHF) was fined a total of €47,500 (£40,138) by UEFA's Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) for lighting fireworks, invading a pitch, and disseminating offensive messages in addition to the forward's inital charge.
Croatian Football Federation's (HNS) was also handed a €28,000 (£23,660) fine for the throwing of objects and the lighting of fireworks, as seen before, during and after the game on Wednesday in Hamburg.
Daku took to Instagram to reply to the charges, seemingly showing little remorse for his actions. He began: "First, I want to be grateful to all those who have supported us in the good and difficult moments at Euro 2024.
"Like any footballer, in those moments the emotions are on another level, where only inside the field they can be understood. It is difficult to describe the feeling of playing for this national team, for these wonderful fans who give us unlimited love, as is our motto "Love Albania without borders".
And he added: "I continue to work together with the whole group to achieve our dreams."
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