Platini: Imagine drone had carried bomb instead of flag

PARIS - UEFA President Michel Platini said that the situation concerning the European qualifier between Serbia and Albania is not innocuous at all, and posed a question as to what would have happened if the drone flying over the Partizan stadium in Belgrade had carried a bomb instead of a flag.

We opened an investigation. We will wait for the reports from Belgrade, but just imagine that the drone had carried a bomb instead of a flag. What would we do then?, Platini said.

We must be careful, as everything is becoming dangerous, especially in the regions where there are a lot of political tensions, such as this one, Platini said in a live broadcast on France's national broadcaster TF1 on Wednesday evening.

The European qualifier between Serbia and Albania was abandoned in 41st minute after a drone appeared above the stadium carrying a "Greater Albania" flag which included parts of Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Greece.

Serbian football player Stefan Mitrovic took the flag off the drone, but was then attacked by Albanian players, who grabbed the map. Then, a group of Serbian football fans stormed into the pitch, a brawl broke out, and the match was suspended at 0-0.

No official in Pristina and Tirana condemned the "Greater Albania" provocation. Quite the contrary, Albanian football players were welcomed as heroes, and Albanians in the region celebrated the incident as a national victory.

UEFA launched an investigation against both football associations, and the decision on the outcome of the match and possible punishments will be made on October 23.

Ap Photo/Yves Logghe