Deputy Prime Minister Arben Fetai said that the incidents during the celebration of the Albanian Independence Day were orchestrated by former Deputy Prime Minister Artan Grubi. According to Fetai, the Albanian men who were publicly destroying Macedonian flags and otherwise trying to provoke an incident were close to Grubi, who is a former leader of a football fan gang and was involved in violent incidents in the past.

We can say that the Independence Day of Albania was seen by DUI as an ideal moment for destabilization. But their plan was derailed with 17 arrests. No-one can burn state and national flags, no matter who they belong to. We did our job professionally and very quickly. VLEN has photographs that prove that the young men who set fire to the state flag are close associates of Artan Grubi, Fetai said in a statement.

Grubi responded with a social media statement denying the allegations. “You do not have the will of the Albanians, but only the favor of VMRO-DPMNE whom you serve. We condemn the violence and the burning of the flags, just as we condemn the selective mono-ethnic justice and the institutional enflaming of tensions”, Grubi told Fetai and his VLEN coalition.