Belgrade’s Red Star club has apologized for the ethnic abuse suffered by AC Milan’s Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic during the Europa League clash on Thursday.
The two clubs clashed in the Serbian capital and Ibrahimovic, a Swedish citizen of Bosnian descent, was the victim of insults from the local crowd.
A video circulating on social media shows a man shouting a word of contempt used in Serbia for Muslims against Ibrahimovic.
“As a club, we have done everything possible to ensure that the organization of the match was on a par with the two big clubs and we will not allow a primitive individual to tarnish the traditional hospitality of our country and our people,” the statement said.
“The Red Star, in cooperation with the competent authorities, will find the person mentioned above and will insist on bearing all the consequences of such behavior.”
The match ended 2-2 with Steaua Roșie, which was left with 10 men, scoring a goal during the injury to ensure equality. Ibrahimovic was the replacement.
Red Star fans are known for their violent outbursts in the stands, which often include ethnic insults against Bosniaks, Croats and Kosovars, with whom Serbia fought wars during the bloody collapse of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
The information from the PA was used in this report