It is reported that the European football governing body took issue with a banner raised by Serbian fans glorifying Ratko Mladić, who died on August 27.
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The 84-year-old Bosnian Serb was nicknamed the “Butcher of Bosnia” for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre during the Bosnian war. More than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed in this horrific event.
R. Mladić was sentenced to life imprisonment in The Hague. In 2017, he was found guilty of genocide and war crimes committed during the Bosnian war from 1992 to 1995.
However, in Serbia and the Republika Srpska (an autonomous territory within Bosnia and Herzegovina with its own political authority and promoting independence from Bosnia and Herzegovina), R. Mladić is often not condemned but glorified.
This was demonstrated by “Crvena zvezda” fans, who raised a banner during the match against Plzeň’s “Viktoria” that read: “eternal glory and thanks to the general”.
Fans chanted the name of the former political leader of Republika Srpska during the match, and “Crvena zvezda” shared a post on their social media after the game with a clearly visible banner glorifying R. Mladić.
Just a few days after the match, UEFA launched an investigation into “racist or discriminatory behavior” and “a broadcast message inappropriate for sporting events”.
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Interestingly, “Crvena zvezda” had previously been punished for chants glorifying war criminal R. Mladić. In 2017, the team’s fans chanted the Bosnian Serb’s name and displayed a banner with his image just one day after he heard the verdict of the Hague tribunal on war crimes and crimes against humanity.
At that time, UEFA’s ethics and disciplinary committee fined “Crvena zvezda” 50,000 euros and ordered them to play one UEFA home match behind closed doors. However, after the Serbs appealed the sanctions, they were reduced to 30,000 euros, and the closed-door match penalty was suspended for two years.
It is worth emphasizing that the “Crvena zvezda” club and its fans often display other intolerable messages. Belgrade’s supporters use a chant at almost every match proclaiming Kosovo’s independence, recognized by 110 countries, as belonging to Serbia, and during last season’s EuroLeague game against Kaunas “Žalgiris,” the basketball section fans displayed a huge Russian flag across the arena.
It is no surprise that the largest Russian company “Gazprom” logo adorns the “Crvena zvezda” football team’s jerseys, and the financial sources of this organization lead to the country waging war in Ukraine.
The jersey with the “Gazprom” inscription could have been worn by Lithuanian Armandas Kučys at the end of summer – according to Serbian media, he interested the “Crvena zvezda” management, but the Lithuanian forward, who represents the “Celje” club, remains in Slovenia for now.
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