Hajduk Split's first major European night in 16 years produced a famous result and a deep disgrace. The 2-1 Conference League win over Ajax at Poljud will be remembered less for the football than for the antisemitic chanting, clashes with police and 12-minute stoppage that brought arrests, condemnation from Croatia's president, and the prospect of UEFA sanctions.
A celebration that turned shameful
Hajduk's return to a European league phase, after a 16-year wait for a match of this size, drew a huge build-up in Split, with tickets for the game selling out in under an hour. But the occasion was poisoned before a ball was kicked.
Ahead of Thursday evening's game, thousands of Hajduk supporters marched through the city. According to the Associated Press, they shouted insults against Jews and chanted in praise of Adolf Hitler as they marched behind a car carrying a mock-up of a coffin emblazoned with the name of Ajax, the Amsterdam club long associated with the city's Jewish community.
Inside the stadium, the disorder continued. Fans clashed with police and threw flares and other objects onto the pitch, forcing the match to be halted for 12 minutes before it could resume. When it did, Hajduk completed a 2-1 victory that should have been a landmark night for the club. Instead, the result has been almost entirely overshadowed — a grim contrast with the competition's happier headlines this week, on the night Salah rewrote the Conference League record books for Trabzonspor.
Arrests, apologies and a country's condemnation
On Friday, police in Split arrested 12 fans on charges of inciting violence and hatred, and indicated that further arrests may follow as the investigation continues.
The reaction from Croatia's leadership was swift. President Zoran Milanovic and the government condemned the scenes, with Milanovic urging "measures and sanctions that will show that there is no place for glorification of Nazism in Croatia." The Croatian Football Federation said the behaviour damaged the image of the club, Croatian football and the country itself, describing it as completely opposed to "the basic values of sports: mutual respect, tolerance and togetherness," and warned of disciplinary and financial consequences for the pyrotechnics that stopped the game. The Israeli embassy in Zagreb said it was "deeply shocked" and urged an official government response.
Hajduk apologised to UEFA and Ajax, while stressing that the behaviour reflected only some of the club's supporters. "Despite all efforts, things happened that we are not proud of, but we are ready to take the consequences as a club," the club said in a statement, as reported by Al Jazeera.
So what happens next — and is a fine ever enough?
The criminal process in Croatia is only one track. The Associated Press reports that Hajduk could face UEFA disciplinary action over the disruption, and European football's governing body treats racist and discriminatory behaviour as among the gravest offences in its disciplinary regulations. UEFA has not announced any proceedings yet; its disciplinary bodies act on the official match reports, and the sanctions available to them run from fines and partial stadium closures to matches behind closed doors and, in the most serious or repeated cases, exclusion from competition.
That range is precisely where the argument now sits. A fine, for a club playing in Europe, is a manageable cost — European football has decades of evidence that fines alone do not change behaviour in the stands. Partial or full stadium closures are the sanctions clubs and supporter groups genuinely fear, because they hit revenue, atmosphere and reputation at once. They also, unavoidably, punish the overwhelming majority of Hajduk supporters who behaved impeccably and waited 16 years for a night like this.
There is no clean answer, but there is a clear direction of travel: when the offence is the glorification of Nazism, the punishment has to be visible, sporting and escalating — not a line in an accounts ledger.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Hajduk earned a famous win on Thursday and an infamous week. The club has apologised and said it will take the consequences; UEFA should make sure those consequences mean something. When supporters glorify Nazism, a fine is not a punishment — it is a fee. UEFA should reach for stand closures now and empty stadiums if it ever happens again. Do you agree that UEFA must go beyond fines for extremist behaviour, or should punishment target only the individuals involved? Tell us in the comments.
