A Croatian court announced on Tuesday that it had convicted 8 football fans for glorifying Croatia's pro-Nazi regime during World War II during the Euro 2024 qualifying match against Turkey last week. Twelve supporters were arrested this weekend, suspected of having sung songs glorifying the Ustashi regime during the October 12 match in Osijek (east) lost 1-0 by the Croats against the Turks.
One supporter was sentenced to two months in prison and seven others to 30 days, a court spokeswoman told AFP. They are also banned from attending national team matches, in Croatia and abroad, for one year. The Croatian government strongly condemned the incident, with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic saying it was "people who wish harm on the national team."
The Croatian Football Federation (HNS) has repeatedly condemned the use of Ustasha insignia and Nazi salutes by some fans. And FIFA has repeatedly fined the HNS for the racist behavior of some of its supporters.