UEFA on Friday condemned the Serbian Football Federation for racist behavior by Serbian fans in two Nations League matches, including for their attempts to burn the Albanian flag in Switzerland.

The decision was announced on Friday, hours after FIFA’s draw put Serbia and Albania in the same qualifying group for the 2026 World Cup – meaning they will face each other twice in the first leg.

On Monday, UEFA’s executive committee is expected to confirm that Serbia and Albania will jointly host the European Under-21 Championship in 2027.

During the Switzerland-Serbia match in November, Serbian fans were shot trying to set fire to an Albanian flag.

The Swiss national team has footballers who have family ties to Albania or Kosovo, including its captain, Granit Xhaka.

UEFA said its disciplinary committee accused the Serbian federation of “racist and/or discriminatory behaviour” in Switzerland on November 15 and at home against Denmark three days later.

UEFA said it banned the Serbian federation from selling tickets for the national team’s next two away matches in UEFA competitions, and ordered it to close parts of the stadium for its next two home matches.

UEFA has also fined the Serbian federation 173,000 euros in total.

Serbia has been punished by UEFA in the past for similar incidents.

The matches between Serbia and Albania in next year’s World Cup qualifiers will be the first since they met in the 2016 European Championship qualifiers.

The match in Belgrade in October 2014 was chaotically abandoned after a drone carrying an Albanian nationalist flag flew over the pitch.