Mirlind Daku banned by Uefa for 2 Euro 2024 games after nationalist chants

Albania player Mirlind Daku was banned on Sunday for two games after leading fans in nationalist chants at the European Championship, that UEFA said brought soccer into disrepute.

Daku took a megaphone after Albania's 2-2 draw with Croatia on Wednesday in Hamburg and joined in chanting slogans against Serbia and North Macedonia.

The incidents and fallout from the game in Hamburg have been the most serious involving Balkan politics at a Euros with the most-ever teams from the region playing and offering a stage for some fans to air its issues.

It also has highlighted rifts in soccer between Albania and Serbia at a time when their soccer federations have tried to heal them by teaming up, despite opposition from many fans, in a bid to co-host the Under-21 Euros in 2027.

On Sunday, UEFA said its disciplinary judges found Daku guilty of failing to comply with the general principles of conduct, for violating the basic rules of decent conduct, for using sports events for manifestations o