In the final phase of Austria’s won European Championship match against North Macedonia (3-1), it was Marko Arnautovic who drew attention to himself. The striker came in half an hour before time and decided the game in the final phase with the 3-1. Celebrating his goal, he addressed some players from North Macedonia. Arnautovic let himself go verbally and had to be stopped by his captain David Alaba. The day after the incident, he responds to his statements via Instagram.
“There were some heated words yesterday in the heat of the battle,” Arnautovic begins his reaction. “I want to offer my EXCUSES for that, especially to my friends from North Macedonia and Albania. I want to say one thing very clearly: I AM NOT A RACIST! I have friends in almost every country and I stand for diversity. Everyone who knows me knows Which.” Arnautovic let his emotions run wild when he gave Austria a 3-1 lead. The attacker screamed and had to be restrained by some teammates, including Alaba. The captain tried to calm Arnautovic, which the attacker in turn was not pleased with.
Serbian and Croatian media report the day after the much-discussed incident that Arnautovic’s lips clearly show that he ‘Ich f***e deine Shiptar-Mutter’ called out. Loosely translated: ‘I’ll fuck your Shiptar mother’. In Serbian, Shiptar is a derogatory racist term for Albanians. The players of North Macedonia have not yet confirmed this and UEFA has not yet reported any racist comments. Arnautovic was born and raised in Vienna, but his family is from Serbia, where many of his relatives still live.
He himself once said: “There is a Serb in me”. His alleged insults after the goal were probably aimed specifically at Ezgjan Alioski, who plays for Leeds United and is of Albanian descent. Both players are said to have become involved in a verbal battle with each other during the match. After the match, images showed how Arnautovic and Alioski were standing on the field in peace, talking. The ethnic conflict between Serbia and Albania has a long history, dating back to the Middle Ages. Serbia still does not recognize Kosovo, where ethnic Albanians are by far the largest ethnic group, as an independent country.
Arnautovic causes astonishment after goal: ‘A classic scary neck’
After his goal on behalf of Austria, Arnautovic let himself go against a player from North Macedonia on Sunday evening, but captain David Alaba was not pleased.
There was also a lot of fuss about an alleged hand gesture by Arnautovic. The attacker made a circle with his thumb and forefinger and spread his other three fingers, which in the Balkans is perceived as a non-verbal version of Arnautovic’s insults. The gesture is sometimes used as a symbol for white supremacy. It is not known whether Arnautovic intended this and whether he is familiar with the gesture. Arnautovic repeated that his words after the goal had “absolutely nothing to do with politics”. “To all the people who were touched: I’m sorry. Let’s all forget it, it’s not part of football.”
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