Serbian Football Fans Honor Convicted War Criminal Ratko Mladic During Belgrade Derby

Supporters of Serbian football rivals Red Star and Partizan Belgrade jointly honored convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic during a match on Sunday. The tribute included a minute of silence and the unveiling of a giant image of Mladic by Red Star fans. Red Star's official social media account shared a video of the event accompanied by a saluting emoji. Mladic, who died in August at age 84 while serving a life sentence in a Hague prison, was convicted of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity for his role in the Srebrenica massacre and the siege of Sarajevo.

This event followed a previous tribute by Red Star fans during a Europa League playoff match in the Czech Republic, where a banner reading "General, eternal glory and thanks" led UEFA to fine the club approximately 90,000 to 98,000 euros. Partizan supporters also recently displayed a "General, thank you" banner and flew a Mladic flag during a match against OFK Beograd. In response to the social media posts, the national team of Bosnia-Herzegovina replied with an obscenity.

Reporting on the event varied by political perspective. Center-leaning sources focused on the unusual unity between the rival fan bases and the factual details of the tributes. A center-left source framed the event as a shameful manifestation of a deeper problem, quoting an analyst who argued that football terraces are used as instruments by the state and criminal groups to deliver ugly political messages.