BELGRADE (Reuters) - Red Star Belgrade fans have stirred controversy by putting a military tank out of their home stadium ahead of Tuesday's Champions League group stage playoff with hosts Young Boys.
The T-55 tank, which was renovated after buying from an army warehouse, was placed off the pitch as a "pull", according to the Serbian club, which drew 2-2 away with Young Boys. But the move was not well received by all fans and was met with firm condemnation from neighboring Croatia, which saw it as a symbol of Serb forces' attack on Vukovar in the early 1990s.
An article in the Croatian sports daily Sportski Novosti criticized the "sick provocation from Belgrade". "They want to play in the Champions League and they are celebrating one of the worst crimes," the paper said.
IndexIr also accused Red Star of displaying a "Vukovar tank in front of its court", although the club and its fans have not hinted in any way what the site or the newspaper reported.
On their official website, fans said the tank was meant to represent the club's "machine" and the nickname of its fans known as the Northern Army.
The row comes amid tensions after a Serb-owned pub in the Croatian region of Knin was attacked by masked men as fans watched Red Star and Young Boys' first match last week.
The relationship between Croats and the Serb minority in Knin remains tense nearly 25 years after the end of the 1991-1995 war of independence that separated Croatia from Serbia and the rest of Yugoslavia at the time.
The tank triggered a split reaction in Serbia as well.