Albania flag-flying drone stops Serbia soccer match, sparks scuffles (PHOTOS)

Albania's Lorik Cana (top R) clashes with a fan of Serbia during their Euro 2016 Group I qualifying soccer match at the FK Partizan stadium in Belgrade October 14, 2014. (Reuters / Marko Djurica)

A soccer match between Serbia and Albania was suspended after a drone with the Greater Albanian flag appeared at the stadium. The Albanian PM’s brother has been blamed for the incident, considered by Serbian authorities as a political provocation.

A drone materialized after the first half of the match at the Partizan Stadium in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, carrying the flag of so-called Greater Albania - created by Albanian nationalists.

Greater Albania is a concept of unifying all the lands where the Albanian population historically lived. Apart from the Republic of Albania, that includes Kosovo and the Presevo Valley in Serbia, part of southern Montenegro and territories in the west of the Republic of Macedonia. Northwestern Greece is also considered the part of Greater Albania.

Serbian national team player Stefan Mitrovic grabbed the flag, while two Albanian players immediately tried to stop him. This ignited the whole stadium, leading to chaos and mass scuffles.

British referee Martin Atkinson was forced to suspend play in the 41st minute with no goals scored.

The match later resumed, but was later called off as fans threw flares on to the field.

"What happened is something we can't comprehend at the moment," Serbia captain Branislav Ivanovic told EuroSport. "On behalf of my team, all I can say is that we wanted to carry on and that we shielded the Albanian players every step of the way to the tunnel [after the riot broke out].”

Later it turned out that the instigator of the drone was the brother of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Olsi Rama, who was reportedly arrested in the VIP box after the match.

He was arrested on suspicion that he masterminded and executed the incident in which a flag with a map of Greater Albania was flown over the pitch and the terraces, after which the match between Serbia and Albania was abandoned," according to the Serbian news agency.

Another report said that Rama was on his way to Albania’s capital of Tirana. He has landed in Serbia using his American passport. He has been living in the US since 1997.

In the meantime, UEFA is planning to open disciplinary cases against Serbia and Albania over the stadium violence.

“We will open disciplinary cases against both federations this morning,” said a UEFA spokesman.

“Football is supposed to bring people together and our game should not be mixed with politics of any kind. The scenes in Belgrade last night were inexcusable,” UEFA president Michel Platini told journalists.