Serbia bus hit by stones ahead of Albania clash

A bus carrying Serbia's squad was hit by stones in the Albanian capital Tirana ahead of Thursday's Euro Qualifier.

Albania has stepped up security for the politically-charged match, after their first meeting in Group I in Belgrade was abandoned when a drone carrying a flag depicting 'Greater Albania' flew over the stadium and a brawl ensued between players.

The Balkan countries have long been at odds over the majority-Albanian province of Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008.

Video broadcast on Serbian media showed streets lined with people, and at least two stones striking the bus.

"Lower your heads, heads down," a voice was heard saying inside the bus.

No one was hurt, but Serbia said the incident raised doubts over security for the game on Thursday evening in the central Albanian town of Elbasan.

Tomislav Karadzic, the president of Serbia's football federation, commended the Albanian police for securing the route from the airport to the hotel.

But, he said: "Several rocks were hurled from the crowd towards the bus. A sizeable one landed in the vicinity of the second or third row of seats, where our players were sitting.

"If this level of security remains unchanged, there will be problems. But they [Albanian police] have guaranteed that this will not happen again. We are waiting to see what happens next."

The man behind last year's drone incident was arrested on Wednesday in Albania in possession of a handgun and 36 match tickets despite himself being banned from the game.

Serbian fans are barred from attending Thursday's tie, with the exception of 70 students.

"We know that there is tension, that all eyes are on this game, that some want to turn it into something that is not football," Serbia's captain and Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic said. "We know we face a cauldron; we don't expect the applause of the Albanian fans."