December 07, (THEWILL) – FIFA has penalised Croatia for the actions of their supporters, who threw objects at Canada goalie, Milan Borjan, during a World Cup group-stage game.
Borjan, a Serb of ethnicity, fled to Belgrade in 1995, during “Operation Storm”, a Croatian offensive in its war of independence. He was born in Knin, Croatia. Although he spent the majority of his club career in Serbia, Borjan later relocated to Canada, which he now represents on the international stage.
A flag reading “Knin ’95 – nothing runs like Borjan” was displayed in the crowd during Croatia’s 4-1 victory over Canada. It was also reported that some offensive chants were directed at him. After the game, Borjan referred to the abuse as “primitive” and FIFA said it would launch an investigation.
With the conclusion of FIFA’s disciplinary processes, it was decided to punish the Croatian Football Federation 50,000 Swiss francs.
FIFA stated: “The Croatian Football Federation has been fined CHF 50,000 for breaches related to article 16 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (use of words and objects to transmit a message that is not appropriate for a sports event) in relation to the behaviour of Croatian supporters during the Croatia v. Canada FIFA World Cup™ match on 27 November.”
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
