Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatian club Hajduk was fined Wednesday and ordered to play two games in an empty stadium after hooligan incidents last weekend, including a masked man chasing the referee with a metal bar.
The game between Hajduk and Rijeka on Saturday was interrupted twice over racist chants, flares and the intruder.
A man in a black track suit and wearing a balaclava jumped onto the field in Split and went after the referee. Police eventually caught him.
Disciplinary judge Sasa Pavlicic Bekic fined Hajduk about 11,000 euros ($11,700). Rijeka was also filed 2,000 euros ($2,100) over flares and "inappropriate" chants by its fans.
The state-run Hina news agency reported that the police in the coastal town of Split detained four fans for "inciting violence and hatred."
The report said that the fans — between the ages of 24 and 30 — used loudspeakers to encourage other fans to chant insults against minorities in Croatia.
The Croatian soccer association has condemned the incidents, urging "clear and unconditional" distancing from the hooligans. Government officials have announced plans for tougher measures to curb hooligan violence.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
