AUSTRIA’S Marko Arnautovic insists his crazy celebration was not a racist tirade against North Macedonians of Albanian heritage.
The hothead striker of Serbian descent had to be contained by skipper David Alaba after coming off the bench to make it 3-1 on Sunday.
The ex-West Ham star, 32, reacted by screaming at Leeds’ Ezgjan Alioski, who is part-Albanian but chose to play for the country of his birth, North Macedonia.
Serbian newspaper Informer alleged that an angry Arnautovic blasted: “I f****d your Albanian mother.”
There is still plenty of tension between Albania and Serbia, centering around the historically-disputed Kosovo.
Many of the North Macedonian players are half-Albanian and Arnautovic apologised for his actions, but is adamant it was not a racial slur.
He said: “I am not a racist and will never be a racist.
“There was a battle of words in the emotion, from both sides.
“It doesn’t matter who it was about. (It) had nothing to do with politics at all.
“My friends, who have grown into my family, are from all over the world.
“To all those people who felt addressed: I’m sorry.”
Austria’s sporting director Peter Schottel added: “Trash talk is part of football.
“The most important thing is that Marko has made it clear he has nothing to do with politics.
“The second thing is that it was cleared up after the game. The topic has been resolved.”
