Red Star fans unveil tifo of war criminal Mladic before derby

WHAT HAPPENED
Red Star Belgrade supporters unveiled a tifo of Ratko Mladic before their derby with Partizan on Sunday night. The club's social media accounts posted a video of the display and of the two teams observing a minute's silence for Mladic; the post included a saluting emoji. Red Star went on to win the match 2-1.

KEY CONTEXT
- Ratko Mladic died in a United Nations prison in August. He was given a life sentence in 2017 for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
- Mladic commanded Bosnian Serb forces in the 1990s. His troops carried out a campaign of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia-Herzegovina, including the massacre of about 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica and a siege of Sarajevo in which more than 10,000 people died.
- Earlier this season UEFA fined Red Star €90,000 after fans unveiled a banner commemorating Mladic during a Europa League play-off against FC Viktoria Plzen last month.
- The official X account of Bosnia-Herzegovina's national team replied to Red Star's post with an obscenity. Thousands reportedly gathered at a church in Belgrade for Mladic's funeral on Monday.

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND
Mladic spent more than a decade on the run before being found hiding in a remote farmhouse. He initially enjoyed the protection of Slobodan Milosevic, who later died while on trial for genocide.

Source: BBC Sport Football