Croatia’s World Cup celebration stirs Balkan tensions

Croatia’s World Cup celebration stirs Balkan tensions

Croatia’s players have stoked ethnic tensions by celebrating their 3-0 victory against Argentina by singing a nationalist song that glorifies the Balkan country’s wartime struggle against the Serbs.

A brief clip shows defender Dejan Lovren singing the song with other players in the dressing room after Thursday’s match.

The song by a popular Croatian singer known as Thompson starts with a chant that was used by Croatia’s pro-Nazis during the Second World War.

It also mentions chasing Serb “bandits” out of Croatia — a reference to the war between the two former Yugoslav republics in the 1990s.

Croatia beat Argentina 3-0
Croatia beat Argentina 3-0 (Michael Sohn/AP)

He said: “If I was in their place, I would be happy with the victory. For some people, their hatred for their neighbours is more important.”

Croatia and Serbia could meet in later rounds at the World Cup.

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