Serbia expelled from women’s U-20 handball WC event

BELGRADE: Serbia has been expelled from the women’s under-20 handball World Cup qualification tournament after it cancelled a historic match against political adversary Kosovo over security fears.

The match between Serbia and Kosovo — which was due to be played behind closed doors — was cancelled by the Serbian interior ministry just a few hours before it was to begin on Friday.

The decision was taken after dozens of hardline Serbian fans gathered at the venue near Belgrade, waving Serbian flags and singing patriotic songs, local media reported.

The match would have been the first documented international sporting fixture between Serbia and its former province to be played in Serbia.

The European Handball Federation said in a statement that “under the circumstances of the match cancellation and the failure of Serbia to play the game... the Serbian national team will be excluded from further participation in the event.”

The Serbian interior ministry said late Friday it would not let matches between Kosovo and the other teams in its group, Norway and Slovakia, go ahead, state-run RTS television reported.