Croatia defender Josip Simunic will miss the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil after being suspended for 10 matches by world soccer’s governing body for making pro-Nazi chants at the end of last month’s playoff victory over Iceland, FIFA said in a statement on Monday.
The Croatian Football Association was shocked by the severity of the ban and said it may appeal.
“The disciplinary committee took note that the player, together with the crowd, shouted a Croatian salute that was used during World War II by the fascist ‘Ustase’ movement,” it said.
“After taking into account all of the circumstances of the case, and particularly given the gravity of the incident, the committee decided to suspend the player for 10 official matches,” FIFA added.
At the end of Croatia’s 2-0 win on Nov. 19, Australia-born Simunic took the microphone at the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, turned to the stands and shouted: Za dom (for the homeland), to which the audience replied Spremni (ready).
The call-and-response salute is widely associated with Croatia’s Nazi-allied Ustasha regime, which brutally persecuted Jews, Serbs, Gypsies and anti-fascist Croats.
Simunic, who plays for Dinamo Zagreb, said in a statement last month that he meant no harm.
“As a Croatian who was born and grew up outside my homeland, I associate home with love, warmth and positive struggle — everything we showed on the pitch to win our place in the World Cup,” he said.
The 35-year-old was also fined US$33,800 and “banned from entering the confines of the stadiums with regard to the 10 matches for which he is suspended.”
The ban appears particularly severe, especially in view of the relatively light punishments usually dished out to national teams and club sides for racist behavior.
“We are shocked and we will probably appeal the verdict,” Croatian Football Association executive president Damir Vrbanovic told the Jutarnji List daily.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or