March 20 – Australian-born Croatian international Josip Simunic will definitely miss the World Cup after losing his appeal against a 10-match ban imposed by FIFA for discriminatory behaviour.
The veteran Dynamo Zagreb defender, who has 105 caps, received the sanction for the way he celebrated Croatia’s qualification for the finals following their playoff win over Iceland.
Simunic shouted “for the homeland” over a microphone, to which fans responded “ready”. The chant has associations with the Ustasha pro-Nazi regime that ruled Croatia during World War II and which was banned in 1945.
Simunic, whose federation said they were shocked by the ban, vehemently denied any political intent and will be devastated to miss the World Cup but FIFA viewed the incident as too serious to treat lightly. Simunic had appealed against the severity of the sanction but the world governing body upheld the original ruling. Croatia have been drawn against hosts Brazil, Cameroon and Mexico.
Croatia’s third most capped player who has competed in two World Cups and three European Championships, Simunic will even be banned from being in the stadiums for his country’s matches.
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