Milosevic expecting no racism troubles in Partizan-Man Utd clash

Savo Milosevic has no doubts Partizan Belgrade’s Europa League clash with Manchester United will be a “celebration of football” after a two-match stadium ban for racist behaviour.

A bumper crowd is expected for the Group L match against the Red Devils, with Partizan forced to play their previous two UEFA home matches behind closed doors following “racist behaviour of supporters” when they hosted Yeni Malatyaspor in the third qualifying round.

The fixture comes in the wake of Serbia’s national team being hit with a two-game stadium ban, albeit one is suspended for 12 months, following a similar incident during a Euro 2020 qualifying defeat to Portugal in September.

United stars Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire also played in England’s 6-0 win at Bulgaria, which was marred by high-profile incidents of racism from home supporters in Sofia.

Partizan coach Milosevic, though, does not expect there to be any issues for Thursday’s match.

Speaking at a media conference, he said: “First of all, I expect everything to be fair and in the spirit of the sport.

“We know of our supporters, we are aware of the importance of the game and we are also aware of the problems we have had in the past.

“But tomorrow [Thursday] will once again be a celebration of football, so I don’t expect any problems in that regard.

Checking in for our flight to Belgrade #MUFC #UEL pic.twitter.com/QHodqxL6BW

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 23, 2019

“We all know how important the support from the home fans can be.”

Milosevic played against the great United sides of the 1990s having represented Aston Villa between 1995 and 1998.

The Red Devils class of today is languishing in 14th after nine games in the Premier League this term, but Milosevic is backing United to challenge at the top again in the future.

“It’s impossible for one club to be always on the top level,” he added.

“In my epoch, United were one of the best teams in the world with Alex Ferguson. They practically won everything possible and it’s difficult to stay on that level always.

“But Manchester United is definitely in the top three biggest clubs in the world, even today.

“They have some difficulties, but it is also normal to have these difficulties, especially after the epoch of one man [Ferguson] who was there for more than 30 years [26 years]. It’s difficult to find someone similar.

“It’s still one of the biggest teams in England, in Europe and they definitely possess quality and I am certain that in the future, all of Europe will see how good they are.

“They have some extraordinary young players and it’s a question of time for them to become key players and to lead United forward.”