A firestorm of controversy emerged in the wake of Sunday evening’s 1-1 tie between Greece and Bosnia-Herzegovina when it was reported that a small banner with a genocidal reference to the Srebrenica massacre was unfurled during the game.
The three-word message usually associated with extremist Serbian nationalists was written in Serbian and raised in the part of the stadium where the Greek side’s “ultras” were seated.
The Greek government also roundly condemned the incident, with new Sports Deputy Minister, Giorgos Vassiliadis, also officially requesting a police probe to find the perpetrators who unfurled the banner.
The government called the incident “fascist like”, promising to ban the perpetrators from sports venues in the country for life.
The banner wasn’t seen on television screens during the game or kept in place throughout the match, held for the 2018 World Cup qualifying round, but was clearly seen in press and social media photographs. Moreover, the banner caused the consternation of the Bosnian side and roughly 1,000 fans that had journeyed from BiH to the coastal Karaskaikis stadium in Athens to watch the game.
Broadcast images of the section of stadium where the banner was raised are plentiful, while ticket holders at Greek football matches must supply personal information when purchasing the tickets.
Security at the venue, however, appeared laxed, as when the Bosnian side scored the first goal in the first half a cascade of flares and smoke bombs were lit among their most diehard fans.
The incident was widely and sharply criticized by all Greek media on Monday, and at one point in the morning, the subject “Srebrenica” was the number one trend on the Greek-language Twitter.
Main opposition New Democracy (ND) party also issued a sharply worded condemnation on Monday, referring to tragic acts by fringe groups or individuals, which discredit our country and are condemned by the vast majority of Greeks."
Greece's football federation also issued an apology in the late afternoon towards the Bosnian people, referring to the “unacceptable display of a banner with fascist content ... which we condemn in the most absolute and categorical way.” The slogan read: “Noz, zica, Srebrenica” (”Knife, wire, Srebrenica”).
