UEFA has launched an investigation and may punish Austria striker Marko Arnautovic
“I can buy this whole damn Macedonia.” Serbian Austrian player sparks Euro political scandal
What happened
On Sunday, the Austrian national team beat the North Macedonian national team (3: 1) in the first match of the Euro 2020 group stage. The final goal in the 89th minute was scored by the substitute striker of the Austrians Marko Arnautovic.
The Shanghai Port forward noted his success violently: he showed gestures to the camera, beat himself in the chest and shouted something loudly. Hearing this, the captain of the Austrian national team David Alaba, right during the celebration, grabbed Arnautovich by the jaw and started yelling at him. During the broadcast, it looked strange – Marco clearly did not expect such a reaction and was offended by his teammate.
Later it turned out that Alaba had not just grabbed Arnautovich for a reason. According to the media, the attacker shouted that he could “buy this whole damn Macedonia.” In addition, Marco indulged in anti-Albanian remarks about Egzon Beytulai, and also entered into an argument with Ezcan Alioski. According to unconfirmed information Goal.com, Arnautovich insulted the mother of the latter.
A similar case at the 2018 World Cup
The North Macedonian national team includes ethnic Albanians, and Arnautovic is a Serb on the paternal side. The tension between Albania and Serbia has existed for a long time. And even at a major tournament, this is not the first scandalous case – a similar one happened during the match between Switzerland and Serbia at the World Cup in Russia. Then the Swiss Granit Jaka and Djerdan Shachiri, whose parents are from Albania, celebrated the winning goal by showing with their hands an eagle – a symbol of their historical homeland. Both were fined by FIFA for unsporting behavior 10 thousand Swiss francs.
Arnautovich’s apologies
Later, the striker of the Austrian national team apologized for his behavior on Instagram: “There were a few hot words in the emotions of the game, for which I would like to apologize – especially to my friends from North Macedonia and Albania. I want to make one thing clear: I’m not a racist! I have friends in almost every country and I advocate diversity. Everyone who knows me is aware of this. Sorry”.
The sanctions will take place
The Macedonian Football Federation stated that it condemns the manifestation of nationalism and discrimination, and also stressed: “We have sent an official letter to UEFA, in which we ask the most severe punishment for the Austrian national team player Marko Arnautovic.” The European Football Union has already opened an investigation, which means that sanctions can be applied – up to the disqualification of a football player.