European football's governing body, UEFA, has banned six international football matches over the years, including Gibraltar vs. Spain and Russia vs. Ukraine.
Unlike club football, where teams can play each other despite rivalry, the international game is significantly different.
National teams may be banned from playing against each other due to conflict or political tension, while some nations have been completely banned from competing in UEFA or FIFA-sanctioned events.
One of the matches that remains on the football calendar despite the political tensions is Serbia vs. Albania – a match that will take place on Saturday, as the pair go head-to-head in a World Cup qualifier.
After decades of hostility, about 2,000 police officers settled in for their first Group K meeting in June.
The match certainly has history. In 2014, during a match between the two teams, an Albanian nationalist flag appeared on the pitch, with Serbian defender Stefan Mitrovic attempting to knock it down.
A massive brawl ensued between the two teams, Serbian fans invaded the pitch and four Albanian players suffered minor injuries. UEFA suspended the match and ultimately awarded a 3-0 victory to Albania.
When it comes to other rivalries, UEFA has banned a total of six matches, including Ukraine vs. Russia, Kosovo vs. Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Russia, Armenia vs. Azerbaijan, and Gibraltar vs. Spain.
Since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has been banned from playing in UEFA-sanctioned competitions, but the two nations have been kept apart before.
In fact, they have only played each other twice, with Russia beating Ukraine 3-2 in a Euro 2000 qualifier in September 1998, before a 1-1 draw between the sides more than a year later.
The 1998-1999 Kosovo War, fought between Yugoslav forces, consisting of a contingent of Serbs and Montenegrins, and ethnic Albanians seeking independence, resulted in the banning of three football matches - Kosovo vs. Serbia/Bosnia/Russia.
Armenia and Azerbaijan do not play against each other in football due to the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which has led to a ban on matches between the two nations by UEFA.
And finally, Gibraltar is unable to stand up to Spain. The island, a British overseas territory located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, has long been the subject of a territorial claim by Spain.
Full list of matches banned by UEFA and FIFA
Spain vs. Gibraltar - Dispute over who owns Gibraltar
Armenia vs. Azerbaijan - Ethnic and Territorial Conflict
Kosovo vs. Serbia - Historical and ethnic conflict - Kosovo independence
Kosovo vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bosnia vs. Kosovo
Kosovo vs. Russia - Russia supports Serbia against Kosovo
Russia vs. Ukraine - Ongoing Conflict
/Telegraph/
