The massive scandal which took place in Tirana during Tuesday’s 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier match between Poland and Albania will be remembered for some time to come.
During the match, furious Albanian fans could not control themselves after Karol Świderski scored a goal for the Polish team, and the Albanians began to throw various items at Polish players from the stands. The referee stopped the match due to this aggression from the Albanian side. Both teams left the field, and the police entered the stands to calm down the rowdy Albanians. This was the sole condition for the match to be continued.
“Poles pelted with bottles after they scored a goal. The footballers are leaving the field…” journalist Kamil Kacperczyk wrote on Twitter, attaching a video from the incident.
The threatening situation had not been entirely resolved but was suppressed long enough for the match to be finished. Poland ended up winning 1-0.
Following the referee’s final whistle, the Albanian team’s fans did not stop their attacks. They continued to throw items at the Polish players, mostly targeting goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny. He reacted with customary calm, at one point picking up one of the bottles thrown at him and taking a sip from it.
In reality, no one thought the situation was amusing, as it may have ended much more dramatically. The Albanians threw not only bottles filled with drinks, but also lighters and mobile phones. The items were shown by Polish sport journalist Szymon Borczuch.
Thankfully, most of the items did not reach the Polish footballers.
“Findings on the field suggest that the finale of this evening could have been less pleasant. Yet it ended beautifully! Well played for the Polish team!”
