Sports News | Croatia, Serbia Fined for Balkan Statements at World Cup
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. The Croatian and Serbian soccer federations were fined by FIFA on Wednesday for making Balkan political statements at the World Cup.
Doha, Dec 7 (AP) The Croatian and Serbian soccer federations were fined by FIFA on Wednesday for making Balkan political statements at the World Cup.
FIFA fined the Croatians 50,000 Swiss francs (USD 53,000) after the team's fans verbally abused and taunted Canada goalkeeper Milan Borjan, who has Serbian family ties.
The Serbian soccer federation was fined 20,000 Swiss francs (USD 21,300) for a political banner about neighboring Kosovo displayed in the locker room before playing Brazil in the team's opening game.
It showed a map of Serbia that included the territory of its former province, which has been an independent state for nearly 15 years, and the slogan "No Surrender."
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The Kosovo soccer federation formally complained to FIFA about the banner, which was hung over two Serbia players' lockers on November 24.
FIFA said the charge against Croatia related to "use of words and objects to transmit a message that is not appropriate for a sports event."
Borjan was born in an ethnic Serbian region of Croatia. He and his family left their hometown in 1995 when it was taken by Croatian forces. The ethnic Serbs are said to have fled on tractors.
During Canada's 4-1 loss on November 27, one banner displayed by Croatia fans used a flag of tractor manufacturer John Deere and changed the marketing slogan to target Borjan.
FIFA also fined Saudi Arabia 30,000 Swiss francs (USD 32,000) for "team misconduct" after getting six yellow cards in games against Argentina and Mexico. AP
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)