A Bad Week in the Balkans

It has been a bad week for football in the Balkans. In Bosnia, 37 people were arrested at a Borac match after hurling racial abuse at one of their team’s Zimbabwean players. In Belgrade, 152 people were arrested for chanting racial, ethnic and religious slogans at a second division match between local team Rad and Novi Pazar.

While it is encouraging to see that authorities are taking action against people using football as a forum to express racism and hatred, it is discouraging that this is still in issue, especially in a region that is no stranger to violence. If you can spare an hour of your life, I’d encourage you to watch this documentary about the World Cup football qualifying match between Serbia and Bosnia last year. It is a fascinating look at how football and politics are so often intertwined to do more harm than good.

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Category: Europe, World Football