Balkan tensions loom over Sparta Prague’s Champions League push | Nick Ames

Rumours of strain among players from former Yugoslavian states has surfaced before group stage meeting with Brest

For Sparta Prague there is plenty riding on Wednesday’s meeting with Brest. Nobody knows exactly what kind of tally will secure qualification for the Champions League knockout stages but a win would probably put them within touching distance of February’s playoffs. This is already their best European performance for more than two decades; they play in one of the most rapidly improving leagues, a fact that would be borne out if they emerge breathing from the sprawling 36-team bulk.

So it is far from ideal that their buildup has been troubled and, from another angle, symptomatic of a problem football stadiums across the continent cannot shake off. An inquest was inevitable when Sparta fell to a 3-1 home defeat against Banik Ostrava on Saturday, leaving them 10 points shy of the league leaders, Slavia, and severely minimising the chances of a third straight title. But nobody could have expected the tensions around Serbia, Albania and Kosovo to fuel a controversy that has sent the gossip machine into full swing since then.