Calcutta/Pristine: Kosovo was collecting money on Tuesday to pay Fifa fines of Switzerland players Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri and Stephan Lichtsteiner for celebrating goals with a pro-Kosovo 'double eagle' gesture in their World Cup win over Serbia.

Arsenal midfielder Xhaka and Stoke City's Shaqiri trace their roots to Kosovo, a former province of Serbia with ethnic Albanian majority where thousands were killed during a 1998-1999 conflict between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanian guerrillas.

The 'double eagle' symbol represents the Albanian flag and is viewed as a symbol of defiance in Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008, in a move that Serbia still refuses to recognise.

The players' celebrations in the 2-1 win over Serbia in Kaliningrad on Friday caused outrage in Serbia.

Fifa, whose rules prohibit political symbols in stadiums, fined Xhaka and Shaqiri each 10,000 Swiss francs and Lichtsteiner 5,000 Swiss francs.

Shaqiri was born in 1991 in Kosovo and left it while he was one-year-old, while Xhaka was born in Switzerland in 1992 in a family originating from Kosovo.

His brother Taulant Xhaka played for Swiss U-21 teams before joining Albania's squad. Nearly 12,000 euros were gathered less than 24 hours after on online fund was launched.

Kosovo commerce and industry minister Bajram Hasani said he had donated 1,500 euros, which is his monthly salary.

"They (players) were punished only since they did not forget their roots, they did not forget where they are coming from," Hasani said quoted by local media.

"Money cannot pay the joy that Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri brought us by celebrating with the eagle sign their goals during the Switzerland-Serbia match."

And that's not all. According to report on skysports.com , the Prime Minister of Albania has opened a bank account to allow his country's people to offer their "symbolic contribution" to pay the fines levied against the Switzerland players.

The account, named "Don't Be Afraid of the Eagle", was opened at Raiffeisen Bank by Prime Minister Edi Rama, who urged Albanians "to pay Fifa's absurd fine".

Erion Veliaj, mayor of Albania's capital Tirana, also criticised Fifa's decision in a tweet.

"The eagle sign like a high-five or a thumbs-up is one of celebration among albanians, a.k.a. from the Land of Eagles!" Veliaj wrote.

He posted a photo of himself and Rita Ora, a British singer of ethnic Albanian origin from Kosovo, making the eagle gesture together.

"Whether a singer like @RitaOra or footballer like @XS/11official it's a call for joy, not conflict," Veliaj wrote.

Rama wrote on his Facebook page that the bank account was a gesture of "thanks and gratitude to the two sportsmen" who brought joy to millions of Albanians.

Though Xhaka and Shaqiri play for Switzerland, Albanians celebrated the 2-1 victory over Serbia as if it were their own. Big screens were set up in public squares to follow the match.

A BBC report, meanwhile, claimed that Switzerland fans have also started a crowd-funding appeal to pay the fines imposed on three Swiss players.