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

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 drew widespread condemnation in 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”.

The Croatian government long has been accused of turning a blind eye to rising nationalist and far-right sentiments 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 pro-Nazi regime in Croatia, said “it was just a question of time before we will reach this point that happened in Split.”

Tens of thousands of ethnic Serbs, Jews, Roma and antifascist Croats perished in World War II concentration camps in Croatia. Nationalist Croats have used a World War II pro-Nazi chant as a symbol of Croatia’s struggle for independence from the Serb-led former Yugoslavia.

The Split incident also was condemned by the Israeli embassy in Zagreb, which said it was “deeply shocked” and urged a government response.

The Hajduk Split team, which could face disciplinary action from UEFA over the game’s disruption, apologised for the fans’ behaviour 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.