Serbia: Brother of Albania Prime Minister Edi Rama 'Flew Drone' into Belgrade Football Stadium

A drone carrying a 'Greater Albanian' flag was flown into the Partizan Stadium in Belgrade, capital city of Serbia, on Tuesday night during a Euro 2016 qualifier between Serbia and Albania.

The incident caused a mass brawl between players, team officials, and fans. The game was suspended by UK referee Martin Atkinson, who subsequently abandoned it completely.

Serbian media claimed the drone was being operated by Orfi Rama, brother of the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, as he sat in the VIP section of the Partizan Stadium.

Albanian broadcaster News24 reported that Ofri was detained for 40 minutes and then released. However, alabanian news websites Grid.al and Sot.com have reported that he was not arrested.

Albanian Minister of Internal Affairs Saimir Tahiri said that to his knowledge, Ofri was removed from the stadium and headed to the airport. Tahiri dismissed the arrest reports as speculation.

'Greater Albania' Drone Brawl

Just as the first half was coming to an end, the drone was flown into the stadium with a flag bearing the Greater Albania insignia flying beneath it. The remotely-controlled drone was seen hovering above the stadium before descending towards the pitch.

While that in itself didn't cause the brawl, when Serbian defender Stefan Mitrovic caught the flag it ignited a mass brawl between the players and coaches of both sides, as well as a number of Serbian fans who ran onto the pitch having seen the flag.

The Greater Albania insignia refers to the idea of a geographical area in which all ethnic Albanians live, including Serbian territories of Kosovo and Preševo Valley.

Albania's Italian coach Gianni De Biasi claimed that some stadium security officers also took part in the attack against his players.

"They were hit also by security officers, an incredibly serious matter," De Biasi told La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper.

Official Uefa match delegate Harry Been said: "We regret the situation. You all saw what happened and I cannot comment on who is to blame or what to blame. I will submit a report with my colleagues to Uefa and Uefa will decide what will happen further."

The qualifier was the first time Albania's national side had visited Belgrade since 1967 and was a highly-charged affair given the on-going tensions over Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008.

Because of the tensions, away fans had been banned from the game, but there was no sign of the drama to come in the opening stages of the game, which saw the home side do all the attacking.