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Oct 2024
8m 59s

The drone that started a riot

Bbc World Service
About this episode

The Euro 2016 qualifier between Serbia and Albania in October 2014 was politically charged between the two nations. But the opening exchanges in Belgrade had passed without major incident, until a drone carrying a flag appeared in the sky above the pitch, with violent breaking out on and off the pitch.

Albania’s captain Lorik Cana and football reporter Nick Ames speak to Jack Butcher about that infamous night in the Serbian capital.

This is a Whistledown production for the BBC World Service.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fascinated by sporting history. We take you to the events that have shaped the sports world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes, you become a fan in the stands as we take you back in time to examine memorable victories and agonising defeats from all over the world. You’ll hear from people who have achieved sporting immortality, or those who were there as incredible sporting moments unfolded.

Recent episodes explore the forgotten football Women’s World Cup, the plasterer who fought a boxing legend, international football’s biggest ever beating and the man who swam the Amazon river. We look at the lives of some of the most famous F1 drivers, tennis players and athletes as well as people who’ve had ground-breaking impact in their chosen sporting field, including: the most decorated Paralympian, the woman who was the number 1 squash player in the world for nine years, and the first figure skater to wear a hijab. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the tennis player who escaped the Nazis, how a man finally beat a horse in a race, and how the FIFA computer game was created.

(Photo: Serbia's Stefan Mitrovic grabs a flag with Albanian national symbols flown by a drone during the football match between Serbia and Albania in Oct 2014. Credit: Andrej Isakovic/AFP via Getty Images)

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