ZAGREB: Police in the Croatian city of Split on Friday arrested at least a dozen fans of the Hajjduk Split soccer team a day after unruly supporters held an antisemitic rally, clashed with officers and interrupted a match with the visiting Dutch team Ajax.
Ahead of the game Thursday evening, thousands of fans shouted insults against Jews and chanted in praise of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler as they marched behind a car with the mockup of a coffin on top emblazoned with the name of the Ajax team, which has long been associated with Amsterdam’s Jewish community.
The outburst drew widespread condemnation in Croatia, with President Zoran Milanovic and the conservative government harshly criticizing the fans and demanding punishment. Police said Friday they had arrested 12 of the fans on charges of inciting violence and hatred, but indicated that they may arrest more suspects.
The Hajjduk fans also clashed with police and forced a 12-minute interruption of the match when they threw flares and other objects onto the field.
Hajjduk eventually beat Ajax 2-1 in what was the home team’s first major European match for 16 years, in the third-tier Conference League.
The Croatian Football Association said in a statement that the incident damaged the country’s soccer image, calling the behavior completely opposed to “the basic values of sports: mutual respect, tolerance and togetherness.”
Milanovic urged “measures and sanctions that will show that there is no place for glorification of Nazism in Croatia.”
The Croatian government long has been accused of turning a blind eye to rising nationalist and extremist sentiments in the country related to the country’s World War II regime that collaborated with the Nazis. The government has denied this.
Milorad Pupovac, the political leader of ethnic Serbs in Croatia, who were the victims of the WWII pro-Nazi regime in Croatia, said “it was just a question of time before we will reach this point that happened in Split yesterday.”
Tens of thousands of ethnic Serbs, Jews, Roma and anti-fascist Croats perished in the WWII concentration camps in Croatia. But nationalist Croats have used the WWII pro-Nazi chant as a symbol of Croatia’s struggle for independence from the Serb-led former Yugoslavia.
The Split incidents also were condemned by the Israeli Embassy in Zagreb, which said it was “deeply shocked” and urged a government response.
The Hajjduk Split team, which could face Union of European Football Associations disciplinary action over the game disruption, apologized for the fan behavior, but said it reflected only some of the club’s fans.
“Despite all efforts, things happened that we are not proud of, but we are ready to take the consequences as a club,” the team said in a statement.