The Football Federation of Albania (FSHF) has once again found itself in the crosshairs of FIFA, as it was fined 10,000 Swiss francs for incidents that occurred outside the “Air Albania” stadium during the match against Latvia on September 9, 2025, as part of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

The Federation announced that it will immediately appeal the decision and has already taken legal action. At the same time, it appealed to fans to support the national team in a decent manner, in order to avoid images that damage its profile and interests. It also asked for the cooperation of security authorities so that every match is a celebration of football.

This is not the first time the Albanian federation has been punished. On July 23, it received a much heavier penalty from FIFA: a fine of 161,500 francs and a 20% closure of the stadium's capacity for the next home match against Latvia, due to serious misconduct in the match against Serbia, which was held on June 7 in Tirana.

The sanctions are related to repeated inappropriate and racist behavior by a group of fans: chanting offensive slogans, throwing objects, using flares and interrupting the playing of national anthems.

Also last March, the FSHF was fined 20,000 francs and had the stadium partially closed due to abusive chants during the match against Andorra. However, the closed stands were allowed to be covered by organizations and communities fighting against discrimination.