July 13- Soccer Game

Tonight I went to a Partizan v. Skendija football match. This was a game against Serbs and Albanians. I should start with saying that being a girl; I was heavily warned before going. A local friend of ours didn’t go saying that many people going to these matches are comparable to Neo-Nazis. My friend from India was warned as well, seeing that his skin was darker. He has already experienced different treatment here, not by all and nothing heinous, but still noticeable and obvious acts of racism. Before even getting into the stadium I understand the warnings. Of the thousands of people I saw, I could count the number of women on my hand. Large, white, rambunctious men swarmed the street, some in street clothes others heavily adorned in their teams colors. No one wore the Albanian colors of Black and Red. We arrived slightly late to the match, but I was glad because we saw the place in full swing. Players were already on the field, and the crowd was alive with chanting, flags, and a forceful energy. The game was exciting, in the end the Serbs won scoring four points in the second half and the Albanians not managing anything. More exciting than the game was the crowd; huge flags swarmed above us, and the stadium was literally vibrating from the yelling and jumping. This was all fun, but it was also extremely scary and certainly a learning experience on ethnic relations in Serbia. Chants included but were not limited to “Fuck Kosovo,” “Kill the Albanians,” “Milosevic! Milosevic! Milosevic!” etc. It was… intense. I survived though, and it was an experience.