Split Police Charge 14 Fans Over Hitler Chants
Criminal complaints for inciting hatred follow the Torcida march before Hajduk vs Ajax. Zagreb condemns the chants, while HDZ founders bring up a 'Serbian world' thesis.
Police in Split have filed criminal complaints against 14 people on suspicion of publicly inciting violence and hatred during the Torcida march before the Hajduk v Ajax Conference League match, played on Thursday, October 15. One of those reported is a man who joined the column while on approved leave from Bilice prison, and he will be questioned at the prison.
We previously reported that arrests began in Split after the Nazi chants by Torcida. This is a separate case from the one over the disorder on the Riva, and Croatia’s prime minister commented on it today.
What was chanted in the march?
According to Croatian media cited by N1, Hajduk fans shouted “Trample, trample, trample the Jews,” “Auschwitz, Auschwitz” and “Rise, Adolf” on the way to Poljud, and “Come on, come on, Ustasha” was also heard. Index adds that a song about burning Jews in Nazi camps was sung, and that Anne Frank, the Jewish girl who died in the Bergen-Belsen camp at age 15, was insulted.
A car led the column with a coffin on its roof marked “Ajax.” Fans later pulled it off the vehicle and smashed it. Index stresses that these were not isolated shouts but collective chanting in an organized march.
How many of those reported are in police hands?
The sources differ. N1, citing Hina, reports that five suspects are in police custody, while nine were not found at their home addresses and are being sought. According to that version, four are at the police station, where their apartments are being searched, and then a custody supervisor and the competent state prosecutor’s office await them.
A newer version carried by Index and Dalmacija Danas says otherwise: two of those reported have already been questioned at the State Attorney’s Office, a third is being brought in for questioning, and ten are currently unavailable to police. Citing 24sata, Index published the initials and birth years of eight people detained:
- H. Z. (1987), I. D. P. (1989), B. K. (1990) and J. P. V. (1990)
- L. I. (2000), T. S. (1998), D. J. (1985) and K. P. (1981)
The lawyer for one of the suspects told Index that his client, a middle-aged man from Split, is not a member of the Torcida leadership. Police are reviewing footage to identify another five or six people.
What do the records of those reported show?
Eleven of the 14 people reported had previously accumulated 284 reports between them, 94 criminal and 190 misdemeanor. According to available data, those proceedings ended in one fine, three suspended sentences and one prison term of 11 months.
How did Zagreb react?
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic condemned the chants in Drvar, where he attended the opening of the new parish church of St. Joseph. Speaking to HRT, he said:
That is a part of the fans, a part of the groups. How did they get to that, is it some, as some are trying to present it, ‘fan folklore,’ as I’d call it? Even if it is, it is entirely unacceptable, inappropriate. It seems to me that it went beyond all bounds and it is objectively a great disgrace for those who did it and who will answer for it
Plenkovic added that he expects a response from the police and the courts, and then said:
Hate speech is unacceptable and unbelievable. These are still smaller groups. But something like this does not contribute to Hajduk, or to football, or to the fans, and unfortunately not to Croatia either, but the opposite
The Dr. Franjo Tudjman Community of HDZ Founders went a step further and asked the security services to determine whether the incidents in Split were accidental or staged to support the thesis of a “Serbian world.” In its statement, it said:
It has been shown once again that there are those who do not accept reality and live off incidents in which there is less and less coincidence and more and more planned predictability.
The Dutch outlet VoetbalPrimeur, as relayed by N1, reported on the antisemitic chants and on Split police launching a criminal investigation to identify those responsible.
What else happened around the match?
On Wednesday evening, the day before the march, about 500 Hajduk and Ajax fans clashed with police on the Riva. Fifty-two people were arrested for breaches of public order, and an investigating judge of the County Court in Split ordered one month of detention for five young men.
During security for the match itself, which drew 31,273 spectators, including 1,413 visiting fans, police detained 28 home fans. A 24-year-old who, under the influence of alcohol, hurled antisemitic abuse at Ajax players was sentenced to ten days in jail. Police are continuing to review footage, and further proceedings against suspects have been announced.
