The entire amount was collected for the purchase of a van for the fans of the national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which was set on fire on Saturday, June 11th, about two kilometers from the stadium in Podgorica, during the match between the national teams of Montenegro and BiH, in the competition of the League of Nations, UEFA.
The day after the incident, Montenegro Nation Team fans “Ultra CG” launched an action to raise money to buy a van, saying that “you will not go home like this, from this honorable and heroic country.”
”Burek with cheese”
Montenegrin fans are announcing a trip to Zenica in a few days, where, as their leader told, they will go with a burek with cheese:
”We are bringing burek with cheese and money with us, and we expect a welcome with the best cevapi in Zenica.”
This message is an allusion to the cheering during the match itself, which became a hit in the region, and the topic of comments by the mayors of Podgorica and Sarajevo.
Namely, at the end of the match, while the BiH fans were leaving the stadium, the Montenegrins chanted ‘Burek with cheese’ because in Bosnia the traditional burek is considered burek only if it is with meat. In other Balkan countries, it can also be made with cheese, cabbage, potatoes…
This fan “provocation” soon became a hit on networks, portals, and media, but also the topic of funny tweets exchanged by the mayors of Podgorica, Ivan Vukovic, and Sarajevo, BenjaminaKaric.
Cheering – often a polygon of extremism
Cheering in Podgorica is contrary to what can often be seen and heard in Balkan football stadiums, where often war criminals and genocide in BiH are supported through slogans and banners.
Sociologist Andrija Djukanovic says that he is happy with the behavior of the fans at the match between Montenegro and BiH, especially because it was a match that was interpreted as high risk because of everything past the relations between the two countries and the civil war in the former Yugoslavia.
”I think that what happened at the match of our national team is an example of what healthy cheering should look like and what kind of relationship should prevail among those who come to the stadium. Unfortunately, we are not used to this kind of fan behavior and meetings between the countries of the former Yugoslavia are always expected with a dose of fear,” Djukanovic says.
He recalls the many matches in the region that sent different messages:
”We know that the fans often emphasized attitudes that do not have much to do with sports, and that members of these groups expressed extremely nationalistic and chauvinistic views.”, RSE writes.
E.Dz.