FIFA Fines Swiss Players and Serbia For Unsporting Behaviour

Swiss footballers Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri were fined 10,000 Swiss francs [8,600 euros] by FIFA on Monday for celebrating their goals against Serbia in the World Cup with a double-headed eagle gesture symbolising the Albanian flag, The Associated Press reported on Monday.

Xhaka and Shaqiri are both ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, which broke away from Serbia in war in 1999 and declared independence almost a decade later but is not recognised by Serbia.

Swiss captain Stephan Lichsteiner was also fined 5,000 Swiss francs [4,300 euros] for joining in the celebration.

For its part, the Serbian Football Federation was fined 54,000 Swiss francs [46,700 euros] for 'discriminatory banners' displayed by its fans and objects thrown.

Serbian coach Mladen Krstajic and the head of the Football Federation Slavisa Kokeza were each fined 5,000 Swiss francs for "unsporting behavior due to statements made" about the referee, AP reported.

Switzerland, which counts among its team a number of players of Balkan origin, beat Serbia 2:1 on June 22, leaving Serbia needing a win against Brazil to advance from the group stages of the World Cup in Russia.

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