May 27 – Former Croatian U21 international and Hajduk Split player Filip Krovinovic (pictured) was attacked by Lokomotiv Zagreb fans in the capital city of Zagreb after a league game Lokomotiv Zagreb and Hajduk Split.
The incident happened on Saturday night, a day after Hajduk had beaten Lokomotiv 5-2.
“Last night in Zagreb, our first team member Filip Krovinović was physically attacked by a group of rival fans. We must immediately point out that this unprecedented hooligan outburst has nothing to do with yesterday’s match between Lokomotiv and Hajduk. He experienced a physical attack after leaving the stadium in Kranjčevićeva, and the sole reason is the fact that Filip is a Hajduk player,” said a club statement.
“We hereby condemn this barbaric act in the strongest possible terms. We expect the competent institutions to investigate this case and sanction the persons whose act have nothing to do with cheering and sports rivalry.
We must also point out that Filip is an extremely non-conflictual person and did not provoke such an attack. Hooligans targeted him last night and attacked him in a group when they sensed an opportune moment. Only by sheer luck and resourcefulness Krovinović did not suffer more serious consequences,” continued the statement.
“This is not the first time that our players experience similar inconveniences in Zagreb. An almost identical case happened eight years ago when Toma Bašić and Josip Juranović were attacked.”
Hours after the attack, the Croatian Football Federation confirmed the attack and strongly condemned the violence.
“The Croatian Football Association expresses its concern and regret over the physical attack on the Hajduk football player, Filip Krovinović, which happened last night in Zagreb… We believe that there is no and cannot be any justification for such an act.
“HNS always strongly condemns any form of violence, and in constant communication with competent institutions, we stress the importance of finding and prosecuting the individuals responsible for this incident, in order not to allow further divisions in football and society as a whole,” said an HNS statement.
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, at moc.l1732320858labto1732320858ofdlr1732320858owedi1732320858sni@o1732320858fni1732320858