Arrests made for pro-Nazi chants at Hajduk Split-Ajax match in Croatia

Croatian football fans arrested over slurs before and during UEFA Conference League game in Split. Save Share Police in the Croatian city of Split have arrested at least a dozen fans of the Hajduk Split football team, a day after unruly supporters held an anti-Semitic rally, clashed with officers and interrupted a match with the visiting Dutch team Ajax. The arrests were carried out on Friday after thousands of fans shouted insults against Jewish people and chanted in praise of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler before the game on Thursday night. They marched behind a car on top of which was a mock-up of a coffin emblazoned with the name of the Ajax team, long been associated with Amsterdam’s Jewish community. The outburst drewwidespread condemnationin Croatia. President Zoran Milanovic and the conservative government harshly criticised the fans and demanded punishment. Police said on Friday that they had arrested 12 fans on charges of inciting violence and hatred and indicated they may arrest more suspects. The Hajduk fans also clashed with police and forced a 12-minute interruption of the match when they threw flares and other objects onto the pitch. Hajduk eventually beat Ajax 2-1 in the third-tier UEFA Conference League in what was the home team’s first major European match for 16 years. The Croatian Football Association said in a statement that the incident damaged the country’s football image. It called the behaviour 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”.