Serbia to seek Euro 2012 replay against Italy

Posted Saturday, October 16, 2010 by YAHOO Sport

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP)—Serbian soccer officials want a replay of the Euro 2012 qualifier against Italy and blame Italian organizers for failing to prevent the violence that caused the game to be called off.

Tuesday’s game was abandoned after seven minutes when Serbian fans threw flares and fireworks onto the field and broke barriers.

Sixteen people, including two police officers, were injured in the fighting through the night. Eight Serbian fans were arrested in Italy and at least another 19 were arrested while returning to Serbia.

Tomislav Karadzic, president of Serbia’s soccer federation, said Friday his group will meet Monday with UEFA President Michel Platini. European soccer’s governing body is to decide on sanctions Oct. 28.

UEFA has warned that penalties against Serbia could include disqualification from Euro 2012 or exclusion from future competitions. The Italian federation fears it may be penalized for allowing the Serbian fans to enter the stadium with an arsenal of fireworks and other destructive material. Italy likely will be awarded a 3-0 victory, but it could be forced to play home games without fans.

Karadzic condemned the Serbian fans, but said Italian authorities were poorly organized and responsible for the mayhem.

“We had information that the Serbian fans would try to disrupt the match,” Karadzic said. “We told the organizers and Italian police about the possible trouble, but they obviously did not react in a professional manner.”

Hours before the game, Serbian fans entered a team bus taking Serb players to the stadium. They were searching for goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic, who upset Red Star Belgrade fans by moving to rival Partizan in the offseason.

Serbian officials said the fans belong to the same far-right groups that clashed with police in Belgrade last Sunday while trying to disrupt a gay pride parade. More than 150 people were injured and much of the downtown was damaged.

Serbian President Boris Tadic said in an interview on Italian state TV on Friday night that those involved in the fan violence would be “put on trial in very rapid time” when back in the country.

Tadic, whose comments in English were voiced over in Italian, said he hopes communication between security and police officials on both sides will improve. He also said he did not think fan violence would hurt his country’s prospects of joining the European Union.