Smederevo serbia

BELGRADE: Several thousand worshippers and clergy, some without face masks, filed steadily into a Belgrade church on Saturday (Nov 21) to pay their respects to Patriarch Irinej, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, who died aged 90 after contracting COVID-19. Irinej tested positive for the coronavirus on Nov 4 and died on Friday, prompting the Serbian government to declare three days of national mourning in the predominantly Orthodox Christian country. Despite a rise in COVID-19 cases, some of the faithful maintained tradition by kissing the glass-covered casket containing the Patriarch's body, which was dressed in a gold-embroidered robe and an ornate crown. Most, however, solemnly walked past it and wore protective masks as they paid their respects to Irinej, who became the Church's 45th patriarch a decade ago. "God protects those who protect themselves," said Tomislav Gajic, 65, a pensioner from Belgrade, wearing a white face mask as he lined up outside the city's St … [Read more...] about Thousands turn out to mourn Serbia’s Patriarch, despite COVID-19 surge

BELGRADE: Scotland qualified for their first European Championship finals since 1996 after a 5-4 penalty shootout playoff win in Serbia with the match ending 1-1 after extra time in the Balkan nation's capital on Thursday. It was no more than the Scots deserved after dominating much of the contest, with their goalkeeper David Marshall emerging as the hero when he saved Serbia's final spot-kick taken by Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic. Scotland will join the 24-nation tournament's Group D including England, the Czech Republic and 2018 World Cup runners-up Croatia, with matches in that pool to be played at Wembley and Hampden Park. Scotland converted all their penalties before Serbia's top scorer Mitrovic, who had a forgettable night as he was subdued by the visiting defence, aimed a tame shot into the bottom left corner at Red Star's Rajko Mitic stadium. Ryan Christie gave Scotland a 52nd-minute lead with a superb shot on the turn and then fired just wide in the 71st before … [Read more...] about Football: Joyous Scots sink Serbia to reach Euro 2020

MADRID: Real Madrid and Serbia forward Luka Jovic has agreed to pay a fine in exchange for a six-month jail sentence after flouting Serbian's COVID-19 restrictions, according to a court statement. The court said the striker, 22, has been ordered to pay a fine of 3.5 million Serbian dinar, equivalent to around €30,000, within a month in order to avoid prison. Jovic, who has scored only two goals since joining Real in a €60-million move from Eintracht Frankfurt in 2019, returned to Serbia when the pandemic disrupted world sport in March. The forward's troubles worsened when he broke his foot in May, missing most of Real's run towards the La Liga title. He has only started two of Madrid's eight league games this season and has not been named in a line-up since a 1-0 win over Real Valladolid in September. His last goal came in a 4-1 win at Osasuna in February. … [Read more...] about Football: Jovic to pay fine to avoid jail for breaking Serbia lockdown

REUTERS: Serbia coach Ljubisa Tumbakovic said he is hopeful all his Italy-based players can link up with the squad for Thursday's Euro 2020 playoff against Scotland after local authorities imposed lockdown rules on some Serie A clubs. Players from Italian sides AS Roma and Fiorentina have been barred from leaving the country to play in international games because of COVID-19 infections at the two clubs, Italian media said on Sunday. Several other Italian clubs will also be affected by the travel ban, local reports added. But Tumbakovic said Inter Milan's Aleksandar Kolarov and Lazio's Sergej Milinkovic-Savic had joined their training camp and he expects the Fiorentina pair of Dusan Vlahovic and Nikola Milinkovic to arrive shortly. "We have a big problem with Italian clubs," Tumbakovic was quoted by the BBC as telling reporters on Monday. "At this moment, I don't have the conclusive answer. "This is the question that is problematic for the whole of Europe as the pandemics … [Read more...] about Serbia expect Italy-based players to be available for Scotland game

BELGRADE: Serbia midfielder Luka Milivojevic has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss their Euro 2020 playoff clash at home to Scotland later on Thursday (Nov 12). The 29-year-old Crystal Palace captain, who has 38 caps, tested positive on Monday after arriving at the national team's training centre in Stara Pazova from England and a follow-up test was also positive, said the Serbia Football Federation. "He will stay in Serbia in accordance with current laws of the Republic of Serbia related to the COVID-19 pandemic," the federation statement added. "All the players and technical staff members of the A team had negative results after additional testing, hence all the other representative players are available to the coach Ljubisa Tumbakovic for tonight's game." The winners of the playoff will earn a place at the European Championship finals which have been rescheduled for next year. … [Read more...] about Football: Serbia’s Milivojevic out of Euro playoff after positive COVID-19 test