Used to fight ISIS and other Islamic insurgents based in the Kashmir region, touted to be used as couriers by Amazon and also assisting Top Gear in locating a waterfall in East Africa, drones have received rather mixed reviews globally for their usefulness. However, in a display worthy of the Red Arrows, an Albanian national somehow managed to fly a drone into a stadium during a European Championship qualifier carrying a nationalist Albanian flag. Obviously, this was going to provoke an international incident. Which it did.
Having already been forced into stopping the match to supervise a flare being extinguished, English referee Martin Atkinson was again called upon to cease play when a firework narrowly missed its intended victim. Several Serbian players soon engulfed the referee, who seemed to think initially that they were having a go at him about the stoppage. Instead, they were trying to point out the impending arrival of the flag to the pitch.
Stefan Mitrovic, in a display of great athleticism and bravery (or stupidity), grabbed hold of the flag and brought it down to pitch level. Almost immediately after, two Albanian players, Andi Lila and Taulant Xhaka, confronted Mitrovic and tried to grab the flag from him. The situation escalated to the point that the staff of both teams were on the pitch getting involved in the fight. At this moment, supporters broke through the, rather pathetic, riot police to invade the pitch. These included a man who had been sent to prison for inciting the violence that led to the abandonment of a Euro 2012 qualifier in Italy. How is he still allowed into football stadia?
Don't get me wrong, this is a deplorable act and one that deserves jail time for those responsible, however, if this was done in the context of a club level game, say the Manchester derby, Man Utd v Liverpool, or even the North London Derby, it would be hilarious. As a staunch Arsenal supporter, I would still find it hilarious if Tottenham fans launched a drone into the Emirates with a flag bearing their logo on it, not that they could afford it of course.
This is the next best way to troll football fans. Take it out of the context of genocide and extreme racial prejudices and hatred and it becomes one of the greatest practical jokes of all time. Please don't misread this and think that I'm condoning what happened, I just think that if whoever thought of it was a little more light-hearted and decided against using the tactic amidst the already fiery atmosphere that was the Partizan Stadium, he (or she) would have been hailed as one of the best football trolls we've seen since Wojciech Szczesny chipped Lionel Messi.
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