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Greece handed a formal protest note to the Albanian government for nationalist attacks on the Greek minority. By order of Minister of Foreign Affairs Evangelos Venizelos, Ambassador in Tirana Leonidas Rokanas handed a note to the Albanian Foreign Ministry, which urges the Albanian authorities to condemn the nationalist acts directed against the Greek minority in Albania.
     It all started after the Serbia-Albania match in Belgrade when, all of a sudden, the Albanian flag depicting the map of Great Albania consisting of Kosovo and parts of Macedonia and also of parts of northern Greece, the city of Ioannina and Corfu, flew over the football pitch. The flying flag was pulled down by a Serbian footballer thus provoking clashes between the players of both teams and between fans and players, and the match was interrupted.

     After the match on Tuesday evening Albanian nationalists invaded, by cars and with waving Albanian flags, Dervitsana village in northern Epirus, which is inhabited by a Greek minority, and started shouting, "Out, Greeks" and "We will burn you, Christians!" Some villagers fired into the air with their guns to scare the intruders, whereas others flocked to the village church and started ringing the bells, as if there were a disaster. Fortunately, there were no injuries.
     Leonidas Rokanas urged the Albanian authorities to take all necessary measures to apprehend and punish the bullies, and to ensure the Greek minority in Albania a calm and safe celebration of the national holiday on 28 October. The Ambassador expressed Athens discontent with such nationalist acts that undermine the European integration of Albania, affecting its reputation and certainly not making it benefit from such extreme actions.  
     Athens official indignation at similar acts that are characteristic of the past centuries in the Balkans has been expressed before the local authorities by the Greek Consul in the administrative centre of Northern Epirus, which is Argyrokastro city.