Crossed hands

The crossed hands gesture is a hand signal that denotes Albania in International Sign. Known as shenja e flamurit (flag sign) in Albanian, it is sometimes referred to as the "eagle gesture" and is a symbol used by ethnic Albanians in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and other regions of the world where Albanians live. It is meant to visually demonstrate the double-headed eagle, the main image on the Albanian flag. The symbolism of the double-headed eagle among Albanians encapsulates their ethnicity and flag, viewing it as a symbol that represents ethnic-Albanian people across the globe. Albanians call themselves as "Shqiptar" (son of eagle) and their country "Shqipëri" (land of eagles).

This gesture is often performed by players of the Albania national football team to celebrate a goal or at the end of a victorious game. It has also been used by some ethnic Albanians playing for other teams.

In the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Swiss players of Kosovan descent Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka and Swiss player Stephan Lichtsteiner, performed the gesture in a match against Serbia and were subsequently fined by FIFA "for unsporting behaviour contrary to the principles of fair-play".

During the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, Greek singer of Albanian descent Eleni Foureira, made the Albanian patriotic eagle gesture in a photo with Albanian singer Eugent Bushpepa. The image went viral in Albania and Greece, being well-received in the former but causing controversy in the latter.