Supporters of Red Star Belgrade sparked fresh controversy on Sunday night when they unveiled a large tifo depicting convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic before the club's derby clash with rivals Partizan Belgrade, a match Red Star went on to win.
Mladic, a former Bosnian Serb military commander, died in August while serving a life sentence handed down in 2017 for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. He and the forces under his command carried out the systematic killing of non-Serb civilians during the Bosnian war between 1992 and 1995, a conflict that tore apart the former Yugoslavia.
Among the atrocities for which Mladic was held responsible was the massacre of roughly 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, an event widely recognized as the worst act of genocide in Europe since the Second World War. He also directed the prolonged siege of Sarajevo, in which more than 10,000 people lost their lives.
Footage circulated by Red Star's own social media channels showed the tifo being displayed inside the stadium, followed by both teams observing a minute of silence in Mladic's memory. The club's post was accompanied by a saluting emoji, further inflaming reaction to the gesture.
The tribute drew swift condemnation online, including a blunt and profane response from the official account of the Bosnia-Herzegovina national football team, reflecting the raw nerve the display touched among those connected to the victims of the wars in the region.
This is not the first time Red Star's supporters have faced sanctions for honoring Mladic. Earlier this season, European football's governing body UEFA fined the club 90,000 euros, equivalent to around £77,000, after fans displayed a banner commemorating him during a Europa League play-off match against Czech side FC Viktoria Plzen.
Despite the scale of his crimes and his conviction on the international stage, Mladic continues to be regarded by a segment of Serbian society as a hero rather than a perpetrator of atrocities. That sentiment was on full display at his funeral on Monday, held at a church in Belgrade, where thousands of mourners gathered to pay their respects.
Mladic's path to justice was a long and complicated one. For years he benefited from the protection of Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic, who himself would later die while standing trial for genocide before an international tribunal. After Milosevic's fall from power, Mladic spent more than ten years evading capture, living as a fugitive before he was eventually tracked down hiding in a remote farmhouse and brought to face justice.
The repeated displays of support for Mladic by sections of Red Star's fanbase highlight the way the unresolved legacy of the Yugoslav wars continues to intrude upon football in the region. Incidents like Sunday's tifo underscore how symbols tied to war crimes still resonate, and divide, within Serbian public life more than two decades after the conflict ended.
For now, Red Star's on-field success in the derby has been overshadowed by the reaction to what unfolded in the stands, with the club already facing scrutiny from European football authorities over similar incidents this season. Whether further disciplinary action follows this latest display remains to be seen.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.