November 24 -Croatia’s so-called “Eternal derby” between Hajduk Split and arch-rivals Dinamo Zagreb was scrapped at the weekend after dozens of blacklisted Hadjuk fans were barred – and their players, remarkably, protested in sympathy.
Croatian media said around 50 of the 1,000 Hajduk away fans who had bought tickets and made the long trip from the Adriatic coast were identified as troublemakers and barred from entering the stadium, prompting the others to boycott the match. Hajduk’s players then refused to play and officials called the match off .
The incident is the latest debacle to rock Croatian football and follows last week’s trouble at the Euro 2016 qualifier against Italy in Milan when Croatian fans twice held up play.
The match will now be registered as a 3-0 win for Dinamo, while Hajduk face a maximum six points deduction and their players could be banned.
Hajduk claim the blacklist was drawn up by Dynamo executive director Zdravko Mamic, a highly influential figure within the Croatian FA. But Dinamo director Tomislav Svetina said his club would sue for lost revenue describing the occasion as “one of the saddest moments in Croatian football.”
He denied Mamic was responsible for compiling the hitlist and was quoted as saying: “It was Split police who gave us the list of 92 persons who have stadium bans. And as soon as the first of them arrived, he was denied entrance. And then Hajduk asked for the match to be postponed. For what?! Because fans registered as hooligans could not get in!? Hajduk should be severely punished.”