Croatia, a World Cup quarterfinalist, was fined by FIFA for fans’ aggressive behaviour toward Canada’s goaltender during the group stage encounter in Qatar last month. If you enjoy watching football, you won’t want to miss the knockout rounds of the 2022 World Cup, where some of the most unexpected qualifiers will compete for the championship.
The world football’s governing body announced on Wednesday that its disciplinary panel has fined the Croatian Football Federation 50,000 Swiss francs ($53,000) for the actions of the Adriatic nation’s fans during the match on November 27.
Milan Borjan, an ethnic Serb who was born in Croatia but fled the country when he was a little child, is said to have been the target of abuse from Croatian fans during the game at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.
His hometown, which was situated in a region of Croatia where Serbs made up the majority of the population, was taken by Croatian forces during a military campaign that ended the Croatian War of Independence in 1995. He was compelled to leave his house with his family.
Additionally, during the time of the operation known as “Operation Storm” and its conclusion, an estimated 200,000 persons of ethnic Serb heritage departed the country. Many of them used tractors to do so.
It should be noted that during Croatia’s 4-1 victory, its supporters hoisted numerous banners, one of which was a flag for the tractor manufacturer John Deere with the slogan “Nothing runs like Borjan” substituted for the original.
Croatia fans held up this flag aimed at Canada goalkeeper Milan Borjan.
“Knin 95 – Nothing runs like Borjan.”
Knin is Borjan’s hometown and the flag refers to the victory in the war over Serb separatists which saw Borjan and most Serbs from Croatia driven from their homes. pic.twitter.com/sH9JW9pOPD
— Sam Street (@samstreetwrites) November 27, 2022
FIFA claimed that the reason it was prosecuting Croatia was because the country had violated article 16 of its disciplinary code, which includes “using words and objects to communicate a message that is not appropriate for a sporting event.”
The football associations in Croatia and Canada as well as Borjan did not immediately respond to FIFA’s announcement.
Only 48 hours prior to Croatia’s round of 8 match against Brazil, the sanction from the regulatory body was announced. Canada was unable to advance past the competition’s group rounds.
Additionally, on Wednesday, FIFA assessed a fine of 20,000 Swiss francs ($21,200) on the Football Association of Serbia for the controversial banner that was flown in the team’s locker room during their match against Brazil on November 24 and which featured the neighbouring country of Kosovo.
Along with the slogan “No Surrender,” it featured a map of Serbia that showed the location of the nation’s former region.
Regarding the flag that was improperly flown over the lockers of two Serbian players, the Kosovo Football Federation filed a complaint with FIFA.
Toxic ethnonationalism is again on full display in Qatar the Serbian team propped up a flag with Kosovo shown as part of Serbia, while the Croat fans cracked jokes about the 1995 Operation Storm and picked on the Canadian goalie for his Serb ethnic background. pic.twitter.com/kjGZplZhw3
— Aleksandar Brezar (@brezaleksandar) November 28, 2022
Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade has refused to recognise the authority of its freed province ever since. Many Western countries, especially the United States, often do this.
The Saudi Arabian Football Association was fined $32,000 by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee for “team misbehaviour” in the third incident of disciplinary action.
The Green Falcons’ six yellow cards during their group-stage matches against Argentina and Mexico on November 22 and November 30, respectively, are what led to this.
Before the World Cup’s knockout round, Saudi Arabia and Serbia were eliminated in the group stage. The football governing authorities in either country did not immediately respond to the FIFA sanctions that were levied.
What do you think of the misconduct and harassment of the Canadian goaltender by Croatian fans, as well as the FIFA sanctions against Croatia, Saudi Arabia, and Serbia? Tell us in the comments section below!
The initial version of this article, “Croatia punished by FIFA for fans’ abuse of the Canadian goaltender,” was found at streamingrant.com.
