Blackmailed by hooligans, probed by police and fined by soccer authorities, its bank accounts blocked over unpaid debts, Red Star Belgrade are in dire straits.
Its violent fans, Delije, are the tottering club’s most acute problem, costing fines and sanctions such as having to play matches behind closed doors, including the clash of the season against arch-rivals Partizan on Sunday.
Red Star were fined on Monday for the unsportsmanlike conduct of fans and players who showed support for a hooligan, Uros Misic, whom a judge sentenced to 10 years in prison after a near-fatal assault on a plain clothes policeman at a match in December.
But the woes of Red Star — Serbia’s most famous club, European Cup winners in 1991 — go far beyond fines and possible loss of revenue from 42,000 tickets already printed for the Partizan game.
A day after the Misic was sentenced, on Sept. 20, Red Star players showed up for a match wearing T-shirts demanding “justice for Uros Misic” and supporters posted a sign threatening the judge who delivered the verdict.
The affair brought police into Red Star offices and dressing rooms. All, from acting president Dobrivoje Tanasijevic to janitors, were questioned, but nobody said who ordered players to wear the shirts.
“Red Star afraid of Delije,” was one of newspaper headlines describing the menacing atmosphere at the club.
Enraged by poor results, hooligans attacked a dozen cars belonging to club management and players, interrupted a practice and slapped winger Ognjen Koroman.
Speaking in Wednesday’s edition of newspaper Press, Koroman downplayed the slapping incident as “not so bad” and said “players were told in the club” not to discuss the shirts with the media.
Thugs also barged into Tanasijevic’s office, threatening him.
Red Star are perpetually on the verge of bankruptcy — its accounts were blocked for days over unpaid credit instalments until money finally arrived from the transfer of defender Dusan Basta to Italy’s Udinese on Monday, reports said.
Former Red Star player Sinisa Mihajlovic has said “individuals” had become involved in Red Star “to make a buck.”
The situation was further aggravated when the club’s top sponsor, Toyota, apparently became fed up with everything and quit.
The current crisis follows the February arrest of its former star player, then top executive Dragan Dzajic, who faces trial for allegedly embezzling millions of dollars from player transfers.
Now, after the club’s worst-ever start in the national championship, Red Star are lingering in mid-table, eight points behind Partizan and with hopes of challenging for the title fading fast.
NO HARD FEELINGS: Taiwan’s Lin Hsiang-ti and Indonesia’s Dhinda Amartya Pratiwi embraced after fighting to a tense and rare 30-29 final game in their Uber Cup match The Taiwanese men’s team on Wednesday fought back from the brink of elimination to defeat Denmark in Group C and advance to the quarter-finals of the Thomas Cup, while the women’s team were to face South Korea after press time last night in the Uber Cup quarter-finals in Horsens, Denmark. In the first match, Taiwan’s top shuttler Chou Tien-chen faced a familiar opponent in world No. 3 Anders Antonsen. It was their 16th head-to-head matchup, with the Dane taking his fourth victory in a row against former world No. 2 Chou, winning 21-14, 13-21, 21-15 in 1 hour, 22 minutes. The
Jannik Sinner continued his quest to become the first man in history to win five Masters 1000 tournaments in a row with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Danish qualifier Elmer Moller at the Madrid Open on Sunday. The world leader extended his winning streak to 19 matches, a run that began early March in Indian Wells, and he has captured 24 consecutive victories at the Masters 1000 level, dating back to the Paris Masters last October. Searching for a maiden title at this level on clay, Sinner advanced to the round of 16 at the Caja Magica with a 77-minute performance against
When Paddy Dwyer arrived in China in 1976, crowds jostled to catch a glimpse of him and his companions — the first Western soccer team to play in the country. China was emerging from the chaos of the Cultural Revolution, and on the brink of market reforms that would take the country from economic stagnation to explosive growth. “All we could see was lines of people running beside our bus, trying to look in the windows, to see their first visual of a white person,” he said. “It was all bicycles,” he said. “There were very few cars to be seen.” Dwyer,
Tennis players are facing an unexpected opponent at the Madrid Open. A stomach virus or food poisoning has affected Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Marin Cilic and others, raising concerns. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka avoided an upset by Naomi Osaka on the court on Monday and said she is trying to avoid illness by sticking to a diet of chicken breasts, rice and salad. The rumor among the players was bad shrimp tacos were to blame. Sabalenka knocked on wood for luck and said, “So far, so good. I heard that I have to avoid those tacos,” she laughed, adding “I stick to the
RSS