The qualifying match of Serbia and Albania next month has been moved from Belgrade to a smaller southern city about safety fear, the Servian Football Association (FSS) has announced.
UEFA approved the request of Serbia to move the match from the capital to Leskovac from 11 October with the permission of Albania.
«The main reason is security – not only for fans, but especially for the players and all others involved in the game,» the FSS said in a statement at the end of Monday.
«Such a fixture bears the highest risk level and requires full control to prevent incidents, as they have already witnessed in earlier meetings between these two teams,» it added.
The FSS referred to a 2014 competition, when a drone with a flag that a «Greater Albania» flew over the field – activated angry fans to run up the field and cancel the game.
The flag showed an extensive Albanian state with Kosovo – a province that declared independence of Serbia in 2008, a movement that does not recognize Belgrade.
The Kleine Nation Kosovo remains a flash point of tensions between the two countries, after a bloody war between ethnic-Albanian guerrillas and Serbian troops in 1998-1999 ended with the withdrawal of Belgrade from Kosovo.
After the earlier qualifying collision of the couple in Tirana, which ended in a scoreless draw, FIFA was punished by FIFA for fangle policy, including «discriminatory behavior» and fireworks.
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In 2015, the two teams met again, in Elbasan, Albania, amidst tensions and a heavy police.
At the time, Media reported, on the eve of the competition, the Serbian team bus was attacked with stones.
FIFA previously punished the FSS for «discrimination and racist abuse» by fans during a match against Andorra in June.
While there were tense scenes in the stands during the 5-0 defeat from Serbia to England in Belgrade last week.
«Moving and organizing the competition in Leskovac considerably reduces the risk of potential incidents,» the FSS added in its statement.
The Dubocica Stadium in Leskovac, built two years ago, has a capacity of just over 8,000 much from the original location of 52,000 seats.
Serbia is third in his group, with England Top and Albania second.
Published on September 16, 2025
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