Fans' chants on the march

On Thursday, 15 October, supporters of Hajduk Split marched through the coastal city of Split toward the stadium ahead of the UEFA Conference League match against Ajax Amsterdam. According to the Croatian daily 24sata, the group sang 'Rise up Adolf' and 'Auschwitz, Auschwitz', and chanted 'Los, los, Ustasha', a reference to the pro-Nazi regime that held power in Croatia during the Second World War. NOS reported that the chants also called for crushing Jews. A small Volkswagen led the procession with a coffin on its roof bearing the name Ajax, which was later kicked to pieces. Ajax had asked its supporters to avoid visible club clothing and to stay out of the city centre.

Condemnation from Zagreb and beyond

President Zoran Milanovic called the chants 'unacceptable and shameful' and urged swift action against those responsible, to show that there is no place in Croatia for glorifying Nazism and Ustasha ideology. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, who was at the EU summit in Brussels, told reporters on Friday:

“We condemn in the strongest terms”

The Croatian Football Association said the behaviour was completely opposed to the basic values of sport, mutual respect, tolerance and togetherness, and that it damaged the country's football image. The Israeli Embassy in Zagreb said it was deeply shocked and condemned the incident in the strongest possible terms. The Croatian government said investigators were working to identify and prosecute those who chanted.

Arrests and the match

Police in Split arrested 12 fans on Friday, 16 October, on charges of inciting violence and hatred, and indicated more arrests could follow. NOS reported that police had already held 57 people overnight from 14 to 15 October, after supporters of Ajax and Hajduk sought confrontation with each other. During the match, home fans set off large amounts of flares, and the referee stopped play. NOS placed a 12-minute stoppage in the 75th minute, while Die Welt put the break at the 77th minute and said the game resumed 15 minutes later. N-tv cited a stoppage of almost 20 minutes.

Hajduk won the match 2-1.

Club response and possible sanctions

Hajduk Split apologised to Ajax and UEFA directly after the match, and its statement also apologised to its own fans. The club said it does not want to be linked to such expressions. According to NOS, the club could face a high fine and may have to play matches without spectators or with empty sections, since setting off flares and fireworks is a serious breach of UEFA rules. The club was already fined 56,000 euros in August over incidents at a qualifier against Raków, and received a suspended penalty: if it offends again, at least 1,000 stadium seats must stay closed for two years. Croatian media reported that UEFA is also examining whether it can act over incidents before the match, and the sanction is still pending.

Earlier incidents

Al Jazeera noted that UEFA docked Croatia a point after fans painted a swastika on the pitch in Split in 2015, before a Euro 2016 qualifier with Italy, and that the perpetrators were never found. Critics cited in the same report accuse authorities of failing to sanction the use of Ustasha emblems.