The fact that key people from the football federation insist that a nationalistic song is played before every Croatia match is a sad indictment in itself. But there is more …much more
Before every home game Croatia play, the same song is played. It has an anthemic, ABBA-esque melody, some hard rock riffs, a heavy bass … and a bit of an ethnic touch. It's called "Lijepa Li Si" (You're So Beautiful) and the man who sings it calls himself Thompson after a submachine gun, a nickname given to him while he fought in the Croatian War of Independence in the 1990s. His first hit song included a slogan used by Croatian fascist and there are recordings online where he sings songs about murdering Serbs in concentration camps.
The lyrics of Lijepa Li Si mention the historic regions of Croatia, climaxing with "Herceg-Bosno, srce ponosno" (Herzeg-Bosnia, the proud heart). The trouble is that "Herzeg-Bosnia" is not a part of Croatia: it refers to a self-proclaimed, secessionist entity briefly established in the neighbouring country during the Bosnian war of the 1990s and, in more nationalistic language, to the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The song was also played on the sound systems at the stadiums in Poznan and Gdansk ahead of Croatia matches. One cannot help but wonder what would have happened if Germany had played there and their fans had prepared for the game with a song mentioning Posen and Danzig. It is unthinkable.
When Uefa fined the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) €80,000 for offences including racist abuse of the Italy striker Mario Balotelli, the media back home reacted with relief. It could have been much worse – a points-deduction for the 2014 World Cup qualifying, for example – and the fine was generally viewed as being too lenient, especially after the Uefa president Michel Platini had said he was dismayed by some of Croatia supporters. "I'm not happy with Croatia", the Frenchman said. "They are a good team but it's unacceptable when you've got a hundred or so arseholes among the crowd."
In Croatia, many saw a possible connection between Platini's words and the poor refereeing decisions Croatia suffered in their final group match against Spain, when Wolfgang Stark could have awarded Slaven Bilic's side two penalties – but didn't.
Bilic duly noted that the penalties should have been given, but said: "I refuse to believe in conspiracy theories. He [the referee] is only a human being and he made honest mistakes." He added: "I don't like this kind of [Croatia] supporters, neither do my players. I don't even want them in the stadium. We have to do everything we can to try to stop them for ever."
Zoran Milanovic, the Croatian prime minister and president of the ruling centre-left Social Democratic party, also reacted. "I can't accept the fact that there were only a handful of these people as an argument," he said. "How come there are no such "handfuls" among the fans of other, far more populous countries?
"Those who do these things are damaging public safety and reputation of the country, and that's something the state should deal with. But the people from the HNS should also consider what kind of messages they're sending to the public."
Croatia is not a hotbed for racist or any other extreme right-wing ideas. There is no significant far-right representation in parliament, or the kind of mass rallies you see in some other European countries. Fascist and racist symbols or activities are, of course, illegal, and over the years there have been virtually only two places where you could come across them: in the crowds at Thompson concerts … and football matches.
So the fact that key HNS people insist that the controversial song is played before every Croatia match is a sad indictment in itself. But there is more. Much more.
The current HNS president, Vlatko Markovic, caused much controversy when he said that the national team "would not visit" Auschwitz, as so many other teams at Euro 2012 have done. "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion," Markovic said. "It's too far from our training base, so we won't go, but we will visit the memorial centre at the Katyn forest, where the Soviets massacred 20,000 Polish nationals." In the end, after a lot of pressure from the media, Markovic changed his mind and sent a delegation to the Auschwitz memorial centre. He didn't join them.
Markovic, who is retiring from his position after a 13-year reign, once referred to Dinamo Zagreb as the "ultimate Catholic club" and has been fined by Uefa for his homophobic remarks. "As long as I'm president, there will be no gay players," he once said. "Thank goodness only healthy people play football."
His successor at the HNS presidency offers little hope that the federation will change its bigoted way. It's Davor Suker, the legendary striker, who was the top scorer at the 1998 World Cup, but is now a scorned figure in Croatia.
This is a man who, right after joining Real Madrid in 1996, visited the grave of Ante Pavelic, the Croatian leader who ruled a second world war puppet state with the aid of fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. And when the pictures from that day emerged, some 18 months ago in Croatia, he said he had nothing to hide. "It is well-known what Davor Suker stands for," he said, speaking of himself in third person, as he often does. "I always fought for Croatia. I went there just like other people go to Berlin or Auschwitz."
Aleksandar Holiga is an independent football writer from Croatia. Follow him on Twitter: @AlexHoliga Read More
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