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Serbia awarded win over Albania, deducted 3 points by UEFA among other sanctions

Reuters

Controversial sanctions have been handed out by UEFA for the violence that marred the Euro 2016 qualifier between Serbia and Albania on Oct. 14.

The fixture, which was played at Partizan Stadium in Belgrade, Serbia, was abandoned after a remote-control drone carrying the insignia of "Greater Albania" flew over the pitch, sparking a brawl between members of both national teams and leading to Serbian supporters invading the pitch and attacking Albanian players.

On Friday, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) completed disciplinary proceedings for the match, assigning sanctions to both Serbia and Albania that are sure to be met with widespread criticism.

Serbia have been awarded a 3-0 victory due to the qualifier being declared as "forfeited." However, they'll also be docked three points, meaning that neither side takes any points from the abandoned game, and will also be forced to play its next two Euro 2016 qualifiers as host team behind closed doors. 

Furthermore, both the Serbian FA and the Albanian FA have been fined €100,000.

According to the Guardian, UEFA's ruling is already being described as a "travesty" by the Albanian FA's lawyers, who believe that their players had every right to refuse returning to the pitch. And given the way that Albania were forced to flee the pitch while being pelted with stones and lighters, there's likely a good case to be made that the ruling is unjust.

Chants of "Kill the Albanians" and alleged banners depicting war criminals also marred the match, while the Albanian FA recently issued a statement alleging that players were attacked by event security personnel as well as the police.

The violence related largely to Serbia's former providence of Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008 and contains a majority-Albanian population.

UEFA's decisions are open to appeal.

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