Burning of Serbian flag in Mitrovica harshly condemned

“We urge the competent bodies and the EULEX to find and punish the perpetrators. Given that setting a national flag on fire is considered an act of crime in a civilized world, the Office for Kosovo calls on the competent bodies to react urgently and bring the culprits to the book,” the statement reads.The Office for Kosovo said it is surprised that neither Pristina nor anyone from the international communities and the international sports organizations has issued any statement on the occasion, stressing that it primarily expects a reaction by FIFA.The fans of the Kosovo football team set the Serbian national flag on fire ahead of a friendly match against Haiti in Kosovska Mitrovica on Wednesday.The fans gathered by the banks of the Ibar River, which separates the Serb and Albanian parts of Mitrovica, and burnt the flag in order to provoke Serbs, Belgrade TV B92 reported.The match between Kosovo and Haiti ended without goals, and it was Kosovo's first official friendly match after FIFA allowed it to play international friendly matches without displaying national symbols and playing national anthems.The FIFA decision is of temporary nature, and the final one should be made mid-March at a session of the Executive Committee.At a meeting with FIFA President Joseph Blatter in Zurich mid-January, President of the Football Association of Serbia Tomislav Karadzic and President of the Football Federation of Kosovo Fadilj Vokri agreed that Kosovo teams and clubs may not play matches against clubs and representative teams of countries of the former Yugoslavia until further notice.