- UEFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against Red Star Belgrade after their fans paid tribute to the former military leader Ratko Mladic.
- The banner display and chanting took place on 27 August 2026 during a play-off match against Viktoria Plzen.
- Convicted of genocide, notably for the massacre of 8,000 people in Srebrenica, Ratko Mladic had recently died in The Hague.
Disciplinary proceedings opened by European governing body
European football’s governing body, UEFA, has officially launched an investigation into Serbian club Red Star Belgrade following incidents in the stands. During the Europa League play-off match played on Thursday 27 August 2026 against Czech side Viktoria Plzen, supporters of the Serbian club paid public tribute to Ratko Mladic. The former military commander of the Bosnian Serb forces had recently passed away in The Hague, where he was serving a life sentence. In the stands, a banner honouring the memory of the “General” was displayed, accompanied by chants in his glory. UEFA is accusing the Belgrade club of discriminatory behaviour and the transmission of inappropriate messages in a sports venue. Furthermore, Red Star’s conduct has been directly called into question for sharing photos of the banner on their own social media channels.
European governing body expected to sanction Serbian club
This provocation in a football stadium exposes the Belgrade institution to sanctions from the disciplinary committee. Indeed, the glorification of Ratko Mladic touches on an extremely sensitive international issue. The former general was definitively convicted in 2021 of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed during the Bosnian conflict between 1992 and 1995. International justice notably found him guilty of the Srebrenica massacre, in which more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed. Despite the gravity of these crimes, Mladic continues to be revered by certain supporter groups. In the face of this political glorification and the club’s active promotion of the tribute, Red Star Belgrade now faces heavy sanctions from UEFA.
