Sports News | Serbian Fan Group Members Arrested for ''monstrous Crimes''
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. Serbian police raided the stadiums of the country's two biggest soccer clubs on Thursday after arresting 17 people linked to fan groups accused of organized crime, drug trafficking and murder.
Belgrade, Feb 4 (AP) Serbian police raided the stadiums of the country's two biggest soccer clubs on Thursday after arresting 17 people linked to fan groups accused of organized crime, drug trafficking and murder.
Heavily armed riot police ordered all those working at the neighboring Partizan and Red Star stadiums in Belgrade to leave the premises and trainings were suspended while the offices were searched.
Police said that those arrested “hid behind” a Partizan supporter group but are “responsible for a series of most monstrous crimes” committed over the past 10 years.
“These are not soccer fans, these are criminals,” police commander Ninoslav Cmolic said.
Serbian media reported that Partizan fan leader Veljko Belivuk was among those detained overnight. Belivuk, also known as Velja Nevolja or Velja the Trouble, was often linked to criminal activity but reportedly managed to stay free because of his connections with politicians.
Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin said Serbia “is a serious country which will not tolerate another creation of a criminal clan which thinks it is stronger than the state."
More than a dozen prominent figures from the country's soccer supporters' groups have been murdered in recent years. Most have perished in gangland-style killings.
Serbia has a history of tolerating hooliganism that often resulted in violence and nationalistic outbursts at stadiums. During the Balkan wars in the 1990s, many of them joined notorious paramilitary groups known for war crimes against other national groups in the former Yugoslavia.
With the return of populists to power in Serbia eight years ago, far-right soccer supporters were often seen at pro-government rallies pushing some of its nationalist political agenda. In exchange, analysts say, the hooligans have been allowed to pursue their illegal business activities. (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)