The Serbian Football Association has issued an official apology following the appearance of a Kosovo flag at the 49th UEFA Congress in Belgrade.
Footage emerged last night showing Agim Ademi, President of the Football Federation of Kosovo, posing next to a Kosovo flag inside the Sava Center, the venue hosting the UEFA Congress.
In the video, Ademi is seen approaching the blue and yellow flag, touching it with his hand, and turning towards the camera.
🇽🇰 Kosovo flag was displayed in one of the largest halls in Belgrade, Serbia, where the 49th UEFA Congress is being held. pic.twitter.com/6Dv0eN8CWs
— kos_data (@kos_data) April 2, 2025
The footage quickly went viral, especially among Albanian social media users, who described the moment as “historic.” At the same time, the praise from Pristina for what they encountered in Belgrade took a different turn, spilling over to social media users and the media in Serbia. Here, the Kosovo flag in the Serbian capital became a viral story as well, but accompanied by criticism directed at the already embattled SNS government.
The incident ignited strong reactions in Serbia, and footage also surfaced online allegedly showing individuals burning a Kosovo flag outside the Sava Center on the same evening.
Serbian Football Association Responds with Apology
In a statement released today, the Serbian Football Association acknowledged that the Kosovo flag had been displayed at the event but attributed it to an oversight by the organizers.
They emphasized that the issue was swiftly addressed and reassured the public that no such flags were present during the main congress proceedings.
“We sincerely apologize to every citizen of our country and every member of our nation, especially to our people in Kosovo and Metohija, who were disturbed and hurt by the oversight of the organizers, which was immediately rectified through our response,” the association stated.
They also underscored the significance of the UEFA Congress, labeling it as one of the most important football events ever held in Serbia.
“The organizer of the congress is UEFA, while the Serbian Football Association is hosting the most prominent figures in European and world football. The outstanding organization of the event was overshadowed by an organizer’s oversight, which one congress participant attempted to exploit for non-football interests. We reacted together, swiftly, and decisively. We assure the public that today, at the UEFA Congress in Belgrade, there is no Kosovo flag or insignia.”
Kosovo became a member of UEFA on May 3, 2016, when it was accepted as the 55th member of the organization at the congress in Budapest.
The decision was made by a narrow majority – 28 votes in favor, 24 against, and two invalid votes. Serbia opposed this move, considering it a political, rather than a sporting, decision.
Following the decision, Serbia announced legal steps before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), claiming that Kosovo’s membership was in violation of UEFA statutes, but there are no known details regarding the outcome.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
