At first sight, the game between Switzerland and Serbia has nothing to do with politics. There has been no conflict between two countries, their relationships are stable and quite positive.

But we should take into account the ethnic composition of the Swiss team. Native Swiss players are a minority there, but there are plenty of footballers with a foreign background, notably from Kosovo.

And Kosovo against Serbia - this is already pure politics. Mostly populated by Albanians, Kosovo has been a part of Serbia for a long time, but after the war in the 90s tried to declare independence. Kosovo national team now exists and plays official matches, but the country itself is only partly recognised by international community - and their relationships with Serbia are not good.

Switzerland’s leaders have roots in Kosovo or Albania - like Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri, who turned the match with Serbia around by scoring two goals and helped their team to win.

Shaqiri actually wore special boots in this match - with the Swiss flag on one boot and the Kosovo flag on the other. When Xherdan scored a late winner, he and Xhaka made the celebration political. Both players joined their thumbs together and spread their fingers to show the eagle - the symbol of Albanian flag.

The players later said that it was just emotional. However, there was some element of provocation. FIFA may even punish Shaqiri and Xhaka for this gesture, as the organisation’s rules state that there should not be such political statements during the celebration.

Actually it is amazing that such a neutral country as Switzerland is involved in a political controversy. But in today’s globalised world, everything is possible.