Red Star Belgrade fans unveil tifo of war criminal Ratko Mladic before Serbian derby
Red Star Belgrade fans unveiled a tifo of Ratko Mladic before their derby win with rivals Partizan, the day before the war criminal’s funeral in the city.
Mladic was given a life sentence for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in 2017. He died in prison last month aged 84.
Known as the ‘Butcher of Bosnia’, Mladic was the Bosnian Serb commander who orchestrated the massacre of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995, as well as the years-long siege of the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, and setting up concentration camps for detained non-Serb civilians and enemy soldiers.
The club’s social media accounts published a video of the tifo and the two teams observing a minute’s silence for Mladic.
Red Star were fined £77,000 this month after their fans unveiled a banner commemorating Mladic in a Europa League clash against Viktoria Plzen.
They were also banned from selling tickets to fans for their next away game in a UEFA competition. That will apply when the Serbian champion visits Swiss club Lugano in the third-tier Conference League.
Red Star Belgrade fans unveiled a tifo of Ratko Mladic, the day before the war criminal’s funeral in the city
Serbia defied EU warnings against allowing public homage to the man found guilty of genocide, with thousands of mourners arriving to attend his funeral
Mladic’s body lay in state on Monday as Serbia defied European Union warnings against allowing public homage to the man found guilty of the continent’s first case of genocide since the Second World War.
Thousands of mourners arrived early at the small Serbian Orthodox Church of St. Luke in Belgrade to honour Mladic, who is still viewed as a hero by many Serbs. His military officer’s cap and saber rested on the coffin, which was flanked by men in fatigues.
The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Porfirije, led the funeral service while pro-government media in Serbia reported that Mladic will receive full military honours at the burial site.
Mladic had spent over a decade in hiding before he was arrested in 2011.
He was convicted at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in 2017, receiving a life sentence.
Mladic died at the age of 84 last month after suffering several strokes in prison.
