In French-speaking Switzerland, the Serbia-Switzerland match revives tensions

In Switzerland, Serbs and Albanians live a now peaceful relationship. Crossing paths in life as well as at work, the two communities – strongly assimilated – have perhaps all the more a tendency to live by sporting proxy what still divides them after the war in the former Yugoslavia. The Serbia-Switzerland match expected on Friday at 8 p.m., with a Nati which remains very dependent on the form of its stars of Kosovar origin, echoes the same clash which took place in June 2018 in Russia. That day, Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri celebrated the Swiss goals by mimicking the double-headed eagle, symbol of “greater Albania”, in response to the provocations of certain Serbian supporters.