The Albanian national team supporters’ group has reacted strongly to the measures taken during the friendly match against Serbia, where UÇK (KLA) symbols and flags were banned inside the stadium.

In a statement posted on the group’s official page, they claim that shirts and scarves with inscriptions such as “O sa mirë me qenë Shqiptar!” (“How great it is to be Albanian!”), “Prishtina,” “Kosova,” and “Shkëndija” were confiscated, and the UÇK emblem was treated as a threat and forcefully prohibited.

“For just a few flags brought inside, we witnessed absurd and disgraceful scenes: over 20 police officers rushed to strip a boy who had the double-headed eagle and the UÇK emblem on his chest. This ‘crime’ is not prohibited by law in any city in Albania—so why should the stadium be an exception? In our stadium, where the country and our identity should be celebrated, our national symbols were treated as a threat.

As for the UCK symbol, we repeat: we will take full responsibility for any fine imposed for it. Send us the bills starting today. The UÇK flag will never be stopped! Not by you, not by your friends in Belgrade, not by anyone on this planet. We’ve displayed it at every national team match for 21 years, and we’ll do the same tomorrow in Riga and in all matches to come. On Saturday, we entered the stadium for this very reason. Once we achieved our goal and displayed the UÇK flag, we left the stadium. We challenge you to stop us,” the statement reads.