Serbia snatch last-gasp 1-1 draw against Slovenia

MUNICH – Substitute Luka Jovic saved the day for Serbia, as he headed a last-gasp goal to salvage a 1-1 draw with Slovenia in an entertaining Euro 2024 Group C clash in Munich on June 20.

A brilliantly worked goal from right-back Zan Karnicnik had given Slovenia the lead and put them on the brink of their first-ever Euro win, before Jovic nodded home from a corner five minutes into added time.

“It is amazing to score like this but I would easily change that for the win,” said the Serbian scorer. “Slovenia were really good. It was very hard for us to handle them but this is the fairest result.”

Slovenia missed several good chances before Karnicnik drove upfield from the edge of his own penalty area, released the ball to Timi Elsnik and then met a beautiful return cross to slot past Predrag Rajkovic in the 69th minute.

The Serbs failed to capitalise on periods of superiority despite the menace of veteran striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, until Jovic struck to leave Slovenian fans distraught.

“It’s difficult right now; we were so close. We played very well but just couldn’t manage to hold them off,” said Man-of-the-Match Karnicnik.

The match kicked off on the back of several political incidents involving Serbia, who are demanding that Uefa punish Croatia and Albania after accusing their fans of hateful chanting during their Group B clash on June 19.

Jovan Surbatovic, general secretary of the Football Association of Serbia, said a formal complaint had been submitted, claiming that Croatia and Albania fans chanted “Kill, kill, kill the Serbs” during their 2-2 draw.

He even threatened that Serbia, themselves charged by Uefa following their 1-0 defeat by England on June 15, could withdraw from the tournament.

All three Balkan nations were part of the former Yugoslav Republic, with many Croats and Albanians still retaining hatred towards Serbs due to past wars that led to hundreds of thousands of deaths. 

“What happened (in the Croatia v Albania match) is scandalous and we will ask Uefa for sanctions, even if it means not continuing the competition. If Uefa doesn’t punish them, we will think about how to proceed,” Surbatovic said.

On June 17, the Serbian football association was charged by European football’s governing body after their fans displayed a banner that “transmitted a provocative message unfit for a sports event”.

That charge came after the Football Federation of Kosovo complained to Uefa about “Serbian fans displaying political, chauvinistic, and racist messages against Kosovo” during their loss to England.

After the Kosovo war in the late 1990s, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. But Serbia does not recognise it as an independent state.

On the other hand, Uefa had also cancelled the media credentials of Kosovar journalist Arlind Sadiku following a nationalist “eagle” gesture he made towards Serbia fans in the same game, mimicking the eagle on Albania’s flag which could inflame tensions.

The political incidents continued before the game against Slovenia, as a group of Serbia fans chanted “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia” in Munich’s Marienplatz square.

REUTERS