NMacedonia wants Austria's ArnautoviÄ‡ punished for outburst

Posted June 15, 2021 7:00 am

By KAREL JANICEK

Austria's Marko Arnautovic, right, celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Euro 2020 soccer championship group C match between Austria and Northern Macedonia at the National Arena stadium in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, June 13, 2021. (Robert Ghement/PoolÂ via AP) The Associated Press

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - The North Macedonian soccer federation has submitted a request to UEFA asking for Austria striker Marko ArnautoviÄ‡ to be punished for a nationalist outburst after he scored a goal at the European Championship.

The federation said the outburst was directed at Ezgjan Alioski, who is of Albanian origin. ArnautoviÄ‡'s father is Serbian and his mother is Austrian.

'œWe are always against nationalism, discrimination and all other forms of insults and outbursts that are not in the spirit of football and the values that we all stand for together,'ť the federation said in a statement released late Monday. 'œWe will always stand up and defend the interests and dignity of the Macedonian national team wherever they play.'ť

ArnautoviÄ‡ scored the final goal in Austria's 3-1 victory over North Macedonia on Sunday at the National Arena in Bucharest.

He wrote in an Instagram story that he was sorry for what happened and acknowledged 'œsome heated words yesterday in the emotions of the game for which I would like to apologize - especially to my friends from North Macedonia and Albania.'ť

'œI would like to say one thing very clearly: I AM NOT A RACIST!'ť ArnautoviÄ‡ wrote. 'œI have friends in almost every country and I stand for diversity.'ť

The Albanian minority forms about a quarter of North Macedonia's 2.1 million population.

Tensions between North Macedonians and ethnic Albanians in the small Balkan country erupted in 2001 when Albanians took up arms and fought with government forces, demanding more rights.

The conflict ended after seven months with a deal that granted more rights to Albanians.

Ethnic Albanian parties have been part of every government in the country since it declared independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.

Serbia and ethnic Albanians have also been in conflict in Kosovo, a former Serbian province that declared independence in 2008.

Kosovo's majority population are ethnic Albanians, and Serbia has never recognized the country's independence.

Albania, Kosovo and Serbia all border North Macedonia.

In 2017, Serbia was angered by North Macedonia's intention to support Kosovo's membership in UNESCO.

___

Associated Press writer Konstantin Testorides in Skopje, North Macedonia, and AP Sports Writer James Ellingworth in Baku, Azerbaijan, contributed to this report.

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Austria's Marko Arnautovic, right, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's third goal during the Euro 2020 soccer championship group C match between Austria and Northern Macedonia at the National Arena stadium in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, June 13, 2021. (Robert Ghement/PoolÂ via AP) The Associated Press

Austria's Marko Arnautovic, left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's third goal during the Euro 2020 soccer championship group C match between Austria and Northern Macedonia at the National Arena stadium in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, June 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, Pool) The Associated Press

Article Comments

Article Categories
Content Providers MLS Pro Sports Soccer Sports Sports Leagues Sports Types

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.