UEFA fines Red Star Belgrade €90,000 over chants praising Ratko Mladic
UEFA imposed a €90,000 penalty on Red Star Belgrade after supporters chanted the name of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic during a Europa League match.
At a Europa League game in which Red Star Belgrade lost 5-1 to Viktoria Plzeň, supporters repeatedly chanted the name of Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb commander convicted of genocide in Srebrenica, and displayed a banner thanking him. UEFA's disciplinary panel deemed the chants and banner as unfit for a sporting event and discriminatory, issuing a €90,000 fine to the Serbian club. In addition, Red Star is prohibited from selling tickets to its supporters for the upcoming away match against Lugano in the Conference League.
A separate ban on away-ticket sales was postponed, placing the club on a two-year probation. This adds to Red Star's history of UEFA sanctions for fan misconduct, including previous racist incidents. Mladic, who died in The Hague while serving a life sentence, was 84 at the time of his death.
Why it matters
The sanction highlights how extremist political expressions are being policed in European football.
How this story developed
- Aug 27 Former Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic Dies at 84 While In Hague Custody
- Aug 28 Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic criticised the UN court’s handling of Mladic’s death and appealed for his humanitarian release to die in Serbia.
- Sep 3 President Vucic publicly criticised the UN tribunal for denying a request to transfer Mladic to Serbia to die.
- Sep 4 Ratko Mladić died in The Hague while serving a life sentence and his body was repatriated to Belgrade.
- Sep 4 Serbian officials confirmed a state funeral will be held for Ratko Mladić.
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