The match between Italy and Albania ends up under scrutiny by UEFA. The highest continental football body has opened an investigation into the match played on the evening of Saturday 15 June at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund between Spalletti’s Azzurri and Sylvinho’s Rossoneri. In particular, the behavior of the Albanian fans is in the sights of Ceferin’s disciplinary commission: the Tirana Football Federation risks being subjected to measures.
Italy-Albania, the Azzurri fans stopped before the match
The match between Italy and Albania has been marked by some moments of tension before the match, when several Italian “fans” were stopped by the German authorities because they were found in possession of weapons and objects capable of offending. The blue ultras, specifically, would have sought contact with their Albanian “colleagues”., but they were blocked in time. The UEFA investigation, however, will not take these episodes into consideration: it will only concern the players events that occurred inside the stadium.
UEFA, disciplinary proceedings on the Dortmund match
As reported in an official press release, UEFA “has initiated disciplinary proceedings in accordance with Article 55 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations (DR) following the UEFA EURO 2024 group stage match between Italy and Albania (2-1) played on the 15th June 2024 in Dortmund, Germany”. Four, in detail, the charges against Albania and his fans:
- Throwing objects, Art. 16(2)(b) DR
- Lighting of fireworks, Art. 16(2)(c) DR
- Invasion of the playing field, Art. 16(2)(a) DR
- Transmission of a provocative message unsuitable for a sporting event, Art. 16(2)(e) DR
The emotion at the anthem, the invasion of the pitch and the can on Rimedio
During the match, which was attended by around 50 thousand Albanian fans out of a total of 70 thousand spectators, there were exciting moments such as when the Illyrian supporters themselves sang the Mameli Hymn, and others less edifying. At the end of the race, as you will remember, a Rossoneri fan invaded the pitch after his national team was not awarded a corner and, in those situations, a can thrown from the stands hit the Rai station occupied by the commentator Alberto Rimedio and the commentator Antonio Di Gennaro.
UEFA proceedings: what Albania and its fans risk
The CEDB, the control, ethics and disciplinary body of UEFA, will decide on the procedure after having viewed videos and images from the stadium’s security cameras and after having collected all the elements useful for a correct evaluation of the case. Albania risks suffering fines and sanctions that can go as far as complete or partial limitations for fans in subsequent national team matches.
