Chased by journalists all the way through the mixed zone, the interview area, striker Xheridan Shaqiri waved his hand. He wouldn’t say anything after Switzerland’s loss to Brazil.
“It’s an important game for our classification. Nothing more”, said midfielder Granit Xhaka afterwards.
The silence of one and the discouraging of another were due to the next match. This Friday (2), at 4 pm (Brasília time), Switzerland faces Serbia, for the last round of Group G of the World Cup, a game that qualifies for a place in the round of 16.
The selection of the now silent Shaqiri plays for a draw to advance to the knockout stage. In case of victory, it could even take the first place from Brazil, which is classified. Serbs need to triumph to survive.
Contrary to what Xhaka said, there is much more than football to the clash, which was proved in the opening round. In Serbia’s debut, against Brazil, a flag was photographed in the team’s dressing room, which reproduced the map of the country including the territory of Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008. The object displayed the phrase: “There will be no surrender”.
FIFA (International Football Federation) initiated disciplinary proceedings to investigate the episode. Kosovo’s sports minister, Hajrulla Ceku, said the image contained “hateful, xenophobic and genocidal messages, using the World Cup as a platform.
Known for its neutrality and distant about a thousand kilometers from Serbia, Switzerland was placed in the middle of a dispute in the Balkans because of Shaqiri and Xhaka.
Each scored once as the Swiss beat the Serbs at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. In the celebration of the bids, both made gestures with their hands in reference to the double-headed eagle, a symbol present on the flag of Albania – the country of origin of a large part of the population of Kosovo.
FIFA imposed a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs (R$ 54,500 in current values) on each athlete. A group of businessmen from Kosovo paid the sum. The team advanced to the round of 16, leaving Serbia behind, and ended up being eliminated by Sweden.
The two players were teenagers when Kosovo declared its independence 14 years ago. A separation that the Serbian government does not recognize.
“This game was four years ago, and there is nothing more behind it. We are Switzerland, they are Serbia. That’s it. We are here to play football. They, too,” insisted Xhaka, faced with a repeat question to the eve of another duel.
This time in silence, Shaqiri tried on other occasions to minimize the controversy and went so far as to say that if anyone was offended, he apologized. He knows he will face an avalanche of curses from Serbian fans at the 974 stadium in Doha.
Shaqiri was born in Kosovo. Xhaka is of Albanian origin. As he is of Albanian origin, 92% of the population of Kosovo, territory involved in the wars in the Balkans in the 1998s. The Kosovo War, between 1998 and 1999, killed about 12 thousand locals. Another 1.5 million had to leave their homes.
Xhaka’s father, Ragip, was jailed for six years for taking part in student protests against the government of what was then Yugoslavia. Shaqiri often wears football boots with the flag of Kosovo.
The background of the controversy that went beyond football is the series of conflicts that fragmented Yugoslavia between 1991 and 2001, after the end of the Soviet Union. There were clashes between Serbs and people from other regions who wanted independence.
The territory of Yugoslavia today is divided: Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.
At the World Cup in Qatar, as has happened on other occasions, Serbia has presented more controversy than football With a point in two rounds, the team found itself involved in questions about the sex life of striker Dusan Vlahovic and midfielder Nemanja Gudelj. Both had to deny extramarital affairs with the wives of teammates.
In the past, the Yugoslavia team accumulated relationship problems between athletes for ethnic reasons. In several cases, Serbs did not get along with Croats. There were also athletes of Bosnian origin. And those from Kosovo. This contributed to the fact that talented generations did not achieve expressive results.
One of them appeared between the 1980s and 1990s. One of the main names was midfielder Dragan Stojkovic, who is now Serbia’s coach in Qatar.
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