- Serbian FA have threatened to withdraw from Euro 2024
- UPDATE: Serbia set to backtrack on Euros threat – Read HERE
- LISTEN to It’s All Kicking Off! Why are England already being briefed on ignoring the noise from outside the camp?
Chaos may erupt in Group C at Euro 2024 as Serbia have threatened to withdraw from the tournament in Germany after accusing fellow Balkan nations Croatia and Albania of beginning offensive anti-Serb chants.
Serbia have claimed that fans from both side’s of Croatia and Albania’s 2-2 draw chanted ‘kill, kill, kill the Serb’ during the 59th minute of the game.
The General Secretary of the Football Association of Serbia, Jovan Surbatovic, has submitted a request for UEFA to punish Croatia and Albania for the alleged chants just before the hour mark of their Group B clash.
Warning that the Serbian team will walk out of the competition if action is not taken.
So what would that mean for England and the rest of Group C?
What will happen to England and Group C if Serbia quit Euro 2024?
If Serbia follow through with their threat, their actions will have a major effect on the remaining teams in Group C.
As it stands England currently sit top of the group, having beat Serbia 1-0 in their opening game on Sunday, while Slovenia and Denmark played out a 1-1 draw earlier the same day.
Serbia’s next game in the competition will take place at 2pm on Thursday, June 20 where they will face Slovenia.
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If Serbia follow through and withdraw from Euro 2024, it would see their final group fixture against Denmark fall through and possibly their game against Slovenia today as well.
Per UEFA laws, it would mean that Denmark and possibly Slovenia would be awarded an automatic 3-0 victory against the Balkan country who would also receive a hefty fine.
According to UEFA, if a national team decides to withdraw from the tournament when it is ongoing, ‘the results of all of its matches are declared null and void, and the points awarded forfeited’.
Serbia would also lose ‘all rights to payments from UEFA’. However if there is a ‘reasoned and well-documented’ reason for the team to pull out of the competition, the team will be set an ‘amount of compensation due for financial loss’.
That isn’t the only thing that could unfold due to Serbia’s withdrawal as it would leave an uneven number of teams in the competition, potentially requiring a new schedule to be created for the remaining fixtures.
Furthermore, It would mean that the teams in Serbia’s group would gain an unfair advantage in the competition, as they would inherit extra rest time without the need to play an extra game.
However since Southgate’s men have already played Serbia, it would not apply to them, meaning it would load the pressure of Southgate’s side to not just win their remaining two games but to win them with significant scorelines.
UEFA could also take further action against Serbia however, in what would be an unprecedented move during a major tournament.