London, Europe Brief News – FIFA has fined the football federations of Serbia and Croatia for making political statements at the FIFA World Cup 2022.
FIFA fined the Croatians 50,000 Swiss francs ($53,000) after the team’s fans verbally abused and taunted Canada goalkeeper Milan Borjan, who has Serbian family ties.
The Serbian soccer federation was fined 20,000 Swiss francs ($21,300) for a political banner about neighboring Kosovo displayed in the locker room before playing Brazil in the team’s opening game.
It showed a map of Serbia that included the territory of its former province, which has been an independent state for nearly 15 years, and the slogan “No Surrender.”
The Kosovo soccer federation formally complained to FIFA about the banner hung over two Serbia players’ lockers on Nov. 24.
FIFA said its charge against Croatia related to breaches of article 16 of its disciplinary code, namely the “use of words and objects to transmit a message that is not appropriate for a sports event”.
There was no immediate response to FIFA’s announcement from Croatia or Canada’s football governing bodies, or from Borjan himself.
The governing body’s punishment came just 48 hours before Croatia take on Brazil in the last-eight on Friday. Canada left the tournament after losing the group stages.
