Futoska Market Clash: SNS, Student List Give Two Versions

Two incidents between activists of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and supporters of the Student List took place near the Futoska market in Novi Sad on the evening of Tuesday, September 29, 2026. In the second, which according to 021, N1 and Nova.rs happened several hours after the first, SNS activist Ljiljana Cvjetkovic was punched in the head.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and SNS President Milos Vucevic blame “blockaders” for the punch, and Vucevic also claims that Ilija Srdanovic, the top candidate on the Student List, encouraged the conflict. Nova.rs, citing available footage from the scene, says the opposite: that Srdanovic did not take part in the incidents and at one point called on the crowd to disperse peacefully. As of the morning of September 30, neither Srdanovic nor the Student List had responded to the SNS accusations.

What happened earlier that evening near Futoska market?

The first incident was about a flag. In a video posted on social media by the Assembly of the Narodni Heroji local community, reported by N1, Nova.rs and Insajder with reference to 021, Vukasin Djokovic, an SNS candidate for member of parliament, appears to try to grab a “Students Win” flag. A scuffle and a verbal clash followed between SNS activists and citizens who back the Student List. Portal 021 published the video the same day at 7:25 p.m.

Dragan Milic, the former director of Spens, was among the SNS activists on the scene. According to 021, as picked up by N1 and Nova.rs, Milic told citizens “that he doesn’t see them” and “to run away over there”. The same sources say other SNS members who hold or have held posts in public companies were also present. Neither Djokovic nor SNS has published a response to the video of the attempt to seize the flag.

What happened in the second clash?

The second incident involved a banner. According to 021, N1, Nova.rs and Insajder, SNS activists again approached citizens, tried to take their “Students Win” banner and insulted them, after which the two groups came to blows. Plainclothes police intervened. Nova.rs writes that several dozen citizens gathered around the intersection, including Student List sympathizers and SNS activists.

Vucic published a video, which N1 describes this way: a man from one of the two opposing groups swings a fist and hits a woman, presumed to be an SNS sympathizer. Vucic claims the man who hit her was a “blockader”. Who threw the punch and which group he belongs to is not something the video itself shows, according to N1’s description.

What does Ljiljana Cvjetkovic say?

Cvjetkovic told TV Informer, whose statement was carried by B92 and Kurir, that last night, between 9 and 10 p.m., she was in front of the Futoska market with other SNS supporters, who had come to back their political option. The 9 to 10 p.m. time frame comes solely from her account. By her telling, the conflict began when Srdanovic approached them:

“Srdanovic started to provoke, to wave at us, to ironically and cynically blow kisses at us and to call us to conflict. We stood and watched, of course, we did not react. However, at one moment a group of people appeared behind him and started to attack us.”

Only she reports the waving and the blown kisses. She then described the blow itself:

“I was standing there in front and at one moment I felt a blow to the head. Later I saw the video and realized that a young man had punched me with his fist in the head area. It hurt a lot.”

She added that after the blow she withdrew, frightened. “I was in shock that someone can attack a woman who came to support the party she belongs to and to support all of that…”, Cvjetkovic said.

What do Vucic and Vucevic say?

Vucic, who heads the “Aleksandar Vucic - United Serbia” list, posted on Instagram late on the night of September 29. He wrote:

“The violence the blockaders are carrying out is shameful and terrible, especially against women. I call on our supporters not to respond in kind, but to calmly bring the campaign to an end and convincingly defeat the bullies.”

In a statement that B92 carries as spoken, Vucic said: “As you could see, they hit her brutally, with a fist.” He added: “Or it is despair that has overcome them because they know they are losing the election, but that can never be a justification for this kind of violence.” He also said: “Please, the fact that you are losing the election is no reason to act like bullies and to attack anyone who thinks differently.”

In the same B92 piece, Vucic also talks about Nis. According to him, SNS activist Denis Stojanovic “was attacked today just for going door to door campaigning” and “is still in the Clinical Center in Nis”. We did not find that claim confirmed in any other report.

Vucevic spoke out after midnight, on September 30, on Instagram:

“I am shocked by the scenes of violence that the blockaders provoked, during which one blockader punched a woman in the face while Ilija Srdanovic stands next to him and, instead of trying to separate people and reduce tensions, cheers for one side and encourages the continuation of the physical conflict. Activists of the Serbian Progressive Party talked with the citizens of Novi Sad and promoted their election program, which was enough for the blockaders to start insulting them, thinking they have the right to deny one political option the right to political action. The Serbian Progressive Party appeals for a reduction of tensions in society, and I appeal to all our activists and sympathizers to avoid conflicts at all costs and not to fall for cheap provocations. United Serbia will win through hard work and patriotism, not violence.”

In that post Vucevic does not mention the waving or the kisses that Cvjetkovic describes. His claim is different: that Srdanovic stood next to the attacker and encouraged the conflict to continue.

What is still unknown?

It has not been reported whether police detained anyone, or whether a criminal complaint was filed over the punch. The sources also differ on what immediately preceded the brawl: 021, N1 and Nova.rs speak of an attempt to take a banner from the crowd and of insults, while Cvjetkovic and Vucevic cite Srdanovic’s behavior as the trigger, or rather the insulting of activists who were talking with citizens.