When the green square becomes the site of a diplomatic confrontation.

Not politically recognized by Spain, Kosovo has raised the threat of a boycott of its match against the Spanish selection, scheduled for March 31 and counting for the qualifiers for the World Cup-2022, if its flag and its anthem are not respected.

It was a tweet from the official Roja account that ignited the powder when she announced that manager Luis Enrique would unveil his list for the upcoming matches against "Greece, Georgia and home country. Kosovo ".

A wording signed by the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, according to the sports daily Marca, and which provoked the ire of the Kosovar Football Federation.

⚠️ OFICIAL |

@ LUISENRIQUE21 dará to conocer the próxima lista el lunes 15 de marzo.



🌎 España inicia el camino hacia # Catar2022 contra Grecia, Georgia y territorio de Kosovo.



➡️ Luis de la Fuente también anunciará la convocatoria para la EURO Sub-21.



🔗 https://t.co/MaRD0ulUL0 pic.twitter.com/Q2DkSxEIcg

- Selección Española de Fútbol (@SeFutbol) March 9, 2021

"This is unacceptable for Kosovo because it amounts to denying that it is an independent territory", explains Loïc Trégourès, professor at the Catholic University of Paris and author of the book "Football in the Yugoslav chaos" (ed. No Lieu), interviewed by France 24. "This name simply does not respect the one adopted by the European Union for political documents."

The president of the Kosovar Football Federation threatened to boycott the match if his nation's flag was not hoisted alongside that of Spain and if his anthem was not played before the match.

“The Kosovo flag will fly in Spain and the anthem will be sung, otherwise we will refuse to play.

Spain have already been condemned for such obstacles with the younger teams, so for us and UEFA everything is clear.

"



- Agim Ademi, President of the FFK pic.twitter.com/j5ywC447qJ

- Football Kosovar FR 🇽🇰 (@FootballKosovar) March 9, 2021

"The flag of Kosovo will fly in Spain and the anthem will be sung, otherwise we will refuse to play, warned Agim Ademi. Spain has already been condemned for such obstacles with the younger teams, so for us and UEFA. , everything is clear."

The independence movements involved

Since 2008 and its declaration of independence, Kosovo has been recognized as a state by half the countries of the world.

Within the European Union, only five countries refuse to do so: apart from Spain, Cyprus, Greece, Romania and Slovenia.

"Most of the countries which refuse to recognize Kosovo are confronted with regionalist or separatist movements. They consider that the independence of Kosovo was made in defiance of international law and therefore that recognition would be a very bad signal to send. ", analysis Loïc Trégourès.

In the case of Spain, it would therefore be a question of not giving grain to grind to the separatists of the Basque country and Catalonia, even if the Spanish government has always defended itself from this version.

In 2018, Kosovar Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi rejected this parallel: "Spain is not Serbia and Catalonia is not Kosovo."

"Spain's position on the subject of Kosovo is almost more royalist than the king. Slovenia and Greece have much more pragmatic approaches," explains Loïc Trégourès.

"In addition, we realized that this intransigence was transpartisan. We thought it was limited to the right and to the Popular Party, but we realized that with Pedro Sanchez (the socialist president of the Spanish government, Editor's note), the things were no different. "

Kosovo relies on "nation branding"

After intense discussions between the two federations, a compromise was finally found for the meeting to take place.

The daily Marca reveals its contours and affirms that the discussions were steered directly by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Spain ensures that it will respect the rules of international football bodies, in particular to avoid a sanction from Fifa or UEFA.

When announcing the list of the 24 players finally selected, the Spanish selection added water to their wine by evoking "the next three international meetings", thus putting Greece, Georgia and Greece on an equal footing. Kosovo.

She should follow official protocol to the letter while using the words chosen by the Foreign Ministry, according to Marca.

🔴 LIVE |

Da comienzo la rueda de prensa del seleccionador nacional @ LUISENRIQUE21 para analizar la convocatoria para los próximos Compromisos internacionales. # SomosEspaña # SomosFederación https://t.co/UA4Oceqdza

- Selección Española de Fútbol (@SeFutbol) March 15, 2021

On the part of the Balkan nation, the intransigence vis-à-vis the Spanish position can be explained by its quest for international recognition since its independence in 2008. A recognition that spanned until 2012 before stabilizing, or even declining.

Faced with the international deadlock, Kosovo has implemented a strategy of "compensation and incentive" by addressing other actors.

"The situation seemed frozen while waiting for a Serbia-Kosovo agreement. Kosovo has put in place a bypass and compensation strategy to continue to advance on the international scene", relates Loïc Trégourès.

"We are no longer addressing States but private organizations."

If Serbia blocks Kosovar membership in Unesco or Interpol, the young Balkan nation manages to be recognized by other players: Facebook is thus changing its policy and now locates the capital Pristina in Kosovo.

"Kosovo is embarking on 'nation branding' (the promotion of the brand image of a country, editor's note) through sport and culture. Artist Dua Lupa contributes to Kosovar visibility internationally. Sport is another way of being visible ", continues the academic.

"We play therefore we are"

Sport is a good way to gain notoriety and to accustom an international audience to a flag, a jersey, an anthem.

The admission of Kosovo by the IOC in 2015 represents a turning point because it means that in the eyes of this organization, Kosovo is "recognized by the international community", according to the statutes of the body: "Kosovo is accumulating symbolic victories . When he is authorized to play his first judo tournament in Russia, a country which does not recognize him, (Kosovar) Majlinda Kelmendi wins. Same thing in 2016 at the Rio Olympics when the judokate wins a gold medal in a country which does not recognize Kosovo ", explains Loïc Trégourès.

"We then see a delegation, a flag, an anthem. The beautiful story that is everywhere in the international press. The idea is to show that 'We play therefore we are'."

At the local level, sport also contributes to a lesser extent to the emergence of a Kosovar unity: "In Kosovo, we have never seen so many flags of Kosovo as since the football team was successful. we rather saw Albanian or American flags, ”notes Loïc Tregourès.

"Football is part of the specific identity of Kosovo but among the Albanians. The next step will be to create something inclusive with the 10% of the population that is not Albanian. It was Fadil's dream. Vokrri, the first president of the Kosovar federation, died in 2018. "

The "grammar of the stands" in the Balkans

Kosovo is not an isolated case and, in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, football is often a privileged place for identity or nationalist claims.

Loïc Trégourès relates that in the stands of matches in the Balkans, supporters tirelessly replay the conflicts that have undermined the history of the region with a great deal of insults and war rhetoric.

In his work, the researcher calls this the "grammar of the forums".

The trip of AC Milan to Belgrade to face the Red Star in the Europa League, last February, saw the Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic - of Croatian-Bosnian origin by his parents - being insulted by "Stinking Balija ( pejorative name given by Serbian nationalists to Bosnians of Muslim faith) ".

During the Switzerland-Serbia meeting at the 2018 World Cup, Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri, both of Kosovar origin, celebrated their goal by mimicking the double-headed eagle of the Albanian flag.

In return, the Serbian supporters present booed the Swiss anthem and the two attackers.

"The stadium is a place of less social control. Certainly during a Serbia-Croatia, things are said that would not be said otherwise in the street. However, it would be reductive to refer these excesses to mere Extremist islets. They are not so far removed from official narratives, "notes Loïc Trégourès.

"A very concrete example: Serbia remains today ruled by members of the government of Slobodan Milosevic (former president of Yugoslavia, Editor's note), who have never reneged on his project."

The closed door, which remains the rule in football today due to the Covid-19 pandemic, should prevent any demonstration in reaction to the actions of the Spanish federation.

La Roja could have spared this geopolitical hot shot by asking FIFA and UEFA not to be in the same group as Kosovo, as it does for the selection of Gibraltar.

But this diplomatic showdown proves that for some selections, it is about much more than football.

And for once, the official protocol should be more closely watched than the game itself.

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