Dinamo Zagreb-Red Star Belgrade riot
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The Dinamo Zagreb-Red Star Belgrade riot was a fan riot in Zagreb, Croatia's Maksimir stadium between fans of Dinamo Zagreb and Red Star Belgrade. The event occurred during a match on May 13 1990.
Approximately 3000 of the Red Star fans, Delije (heroes) made the trip to Zagreb. They were led Željko Ražnatović aka Arkan, soon to be a Serb paramilitary leader and later accused war criminal (although there is no indication he was present at this game). The game had anywhere between 15,000 to 20,000 spectators.
The Delije began to start trouble before the game began, starting fights around the city. When they arrived at Maksimir they began to tear away seats and advertisements. The Yugoslav police did little to stop the rioting that had erupted in the Delije area. Nationalistic Serb chants were soon shouted at the Bad Blue Boys (BBB) section - the Dinamo fans. However, the scene really got out of hand when the Delije broke the fence leading into the section containing the general public and harassed the fans there.
At this, the BBB were incensed. They attempted to storm the field, but were quickly attacked by the same police who had let the situation get out of hand by not acting against the visiting fans. The BBB could not be stopped and soon took to the field to reach the Delije section.
At this time, several Dinamo players still remained on the field. Zvonimir Boban famously attacked one of the police officers with a kick. BBB soon came to Boban's defence. For this act Boban became a sort of hero in Croatia, and was considered a Croatian nationalist by the Serbs. He was suspended by the Yugoslav FA for six months.
This riot marked the beginning of the end for the Yugoslav First League. It lasted one more season before several countries making up Yugoslavia seceded and the region engulfed in war. Many BBB would join the Croatian Army in the following years, and many of the Delije joined Arkan's Serb Volunteer Guard.
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