Red Star fans unveil tifo of war criminal Mladic before derby

What the report says

Red Star Belgrade fans displayed a large tifo of Ratko Mladic before the club’s Serbian top-flight derby against Partizan Belgrade on Sunday night, according to BBC Sport. Red Star later won the match 2-1. Mladic, a Bosnian Serb wartime commander, was sentenced to life in prison in 2017 for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, and died in a United Nations prison in August.

The BBC said the display came after a match in which the club’s supporters had already drawn scrutiny from European football authorities. Uefa fined Red Star 90,000 euros after fans previously unveiled a banner commemorating Mladic during a Europa League qualifying tie against FC Viktoria Plzen last month. The club’s social media accounts also posted video of the derby display, alongside a reference to a minute’s silence and a saluting emoji.

Mladic is one of the most controversial figures from the wars in the former Yugoslavia. He was found responsible for the killing of thousands of Bosniaks, including the Srebrenica massacre and the siege of Sarajevo, and his public remembrance continues to divide opinion in the region. The BBC noted that he remains a celebrated figure for some in Serbia, where thousands reportedly gathered for a memorial connected to his funeral.