Serbian derby opens with tribute to convicted war criminal Mladic

The 180th "Eternal Derby" between Crvena Zvezda and Partizan opened Sunday with a minute of silence honoring Ratko Mladic, the convicted Bosnian Serb war criminal who died last week in The Hague, as supporters displayed banners and chanted his name at the Rajko Mitic Stadium in defiance of recent UEFA sanctions. Crvena Zvezda fans unveiled a large banner featuring the former military commander while Partizan supporters joined in chanting, according to Serbian media reports. The stadium announcer concluded the tribute by saying "May eternal glory be his" before the match proceeded.

Crvena Zvezda defeated Partizan 2-1 in the Serbian Super League fixture, securing victory in the latest chapter of the country's most storied football rivalry. The tribute proceeded just two days after European football's governing body fined the Belgrade club €90,000 over identical supporter behavior during a Europa League match in the Czech Republic.

UEFA sanctions

UEFA imposed the fine on Friday following incidents during the club's Europa League playoff against Viktoria Plzen on August 27, when supporters chanted Mladic's name and displayed a banner reading "General, eternal glory and thanks." The club later shared an image of the banner on its social media accounts. The governing body also banned Crvena Zvezda from selling tickets to away supporters for its next European competition match, citing charges including racist or discriminatory behavior and transmitting a message unfit for a sports event, according to the disciplinary ruling.

The club had faced similar sanctions in 2017 after supporters displayed a banner and chanted Mladic's name during a Europa League match against BATE Borisov, shortly after the UN tribunal sentenced him to life imprisonment. UEFA initially ordered a home match to be played behind closed doors and imposed a €50,000 fine, later reduced to €30,000 on appeal with the stadium ban suspended under a two-year probationary period.

War crimes conviction

Mladic, the former commander of the Bosnian Serb Army, died on August 27 at age 84 while serving a life sentence for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War. The UN tribunal for the former Yugoslavia convicted him for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, in which more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed — a crime recognized as genocide by international courts. He was also found guilty of overseeing a campaign of ethnic cleansing and siege warfare that claimed thousands of civilian lives across Bosnia.

His burial was scheduled for Monday at Topcider Cemetery in Belgrade, one day after the derby tribute renewed scrutiny of his legacy among Serbian football supporters.