Vinkovci Veteran on Jozinovic: 'He Is Just a Kid'

A war veteran from Vinkovci, a neighbor of Jakov Jozinovic, tells Telegraf he cannot understand how the singer can perform songs by Marko Perkovic Thompson. The interview was published on October 20, 2026, a day after news that the singer’s concerts at Belgrade Arena were being postponed.

The trigger was a video in which Jozinovic sings a Thompson song. Telegraf reports that the video is claimed to be about two years old, while Informer writes that the song is “Ako ne znas sta je bilo.” Petitions to cancel the Belgrade concerts were then launched on social media, Informer reports.

What happened with the Belgrade Arena concerts?

The shows were scheduled for October 24 and 25. On October 19, the singer announced they were being postponed “for technical reasons.” Telegraf reports that a replacement date was announced for one concert, while for the other, according to the singer, no date exists yet. We previously reported that the first concert was moved to November 28. Informer places the postponement after the petitions, while the singer’s announcement mentions only a technical reason.

What did the neighbor tell the Telegraf crew?

Telegraf reporters went to Vinkovci, the singer’s hometown, and spoke with the neighbor, a war veteran, in front of his building. His name was not published. The criticism was sharp:

“I don’t get how he can sing Thompson’s songs, he’s just a kid. Jakov was born in peacetime.”

The neighbor claims the singer was recently in the area and parked an SUV with Zagreb license plates. According to him, he ran after the singer so that Jozinovic would give a T-shirt and take a photo with a friend of a neighbor, whom he called a Svabica and who adores the singer. The singer, he says, fled into a church. By his account, then, the photo never happened. He also relays the words of the singer’s father: “He doesn’t have anything in that car, his managers keep all of that.” Telegraf’s article contains no response from the singer to these claims.

The neighbor adds that Croatian veterans are also attacking Jozinovic over his performance in Novi Sad:

“Our veterans are going after him, saying: ‘Why did he sing in Novi Sad, Croats were held prisoner there.’ God, as if he knows who was there, he wasn’t even born. He’s still just a kid. I don’t know how many songs of his own he has, I know there aren’t many, but he sings other singers’ songs like this.”

He also mentioned a recent performance by the singer. Whom he means by “Bare” is not explained in the published part of the interview:

“Now, when Bare died, he sang his song at his performance, but I really haven’t heard of him doing it for Thompson.”

What are social media users saying?

Telegraf quotes a post on X: one user wrote that he is selling his ticket for the concert on October 24. Other users on the platform replied below, and some asked whether there is a way to get their money back. This is a single post and the comments under it, not a figure on how many tickets were sold or refunded.