Wednesday 15 October 2014

Serbia captain Branislav Ivanovic has said that his team-mates wanted to continue playing in the Euro 2016 qualifier against Albania which was abandoned in the 41st minute after a drone carrying an Albanian flag sparked a mass brawl between fans and players.

The trouble began when an Albanian flag and message flew above the pitch and was caught by a Serbia player. Albania players tried to take it before several fans broke onto the pitch

English referee Martin Atkinson led the players off the field and, after a delay of 30 minutes, Uefa confirmed the match had been abandoned.

"On behalf of my team, all I can say is that we wanted to carry on and that we shielded the Albanian players every step of the way to the tunnel," the Chelsea defender said.

"The Albanian team said they were unfit physically and mentally to carry on after talking to the officials and they will now decide the fate of this match. We can only regret that football took a back seat but it is difficult to draw any conclusions or make any comments now."

The Euro 2016 qualifying match marked the first time that Albania have played in Belgrade since 1967. Uefa had banned Albania fans from attending the Group I game but had elected to allow the two countries to face each other, despite long-standing political tensions. Albanians and Serbians are the two ethnicities involved in the dispute over Kosovo.

n contrast, Albanian captain Lorik Cana told broadcasters from his own country: "I saw my players being attacked and hit even inside the tunnel, and even by the stewards.

"We were not in the right psychological or physical state to continue playing."