Fans of the Serbian football club Red Star Belgrade unveiled a tifo depicting Ratko Mladic, a former Bosnian Serb commander convicted of genocide and war crimes, ahead of a derby match against rivals Partizan. The display occurred on September 7, 2026, the day before Mladic's funeral was scheduled to take place in Belgrade.
Mladic, often referred to as the 'Butcher of Bosnia,' was found guilty in 2017 by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for his role in orchestrating the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, which resulted in the deaths of over 8,000 Muslim men and boys. He was also held responsible for the prolonged siege of Sarajevo and the establishment of concentration camps.
Mladic died last month in prison at the age of 84. His body lay in state on September 7, with thousands of mourners attending a service at the Church of St. Luke in Belgrade, defying warnings from the European Union against public displays of homage to the convicted war criminal. Pro-government media in Serbia reported that Mladic would receive full military honors at his burial.
This is not the first time Red Star fans have shown support for Mladic. The club was previously fined approximately $98,000 (£77,000) and banned from selling tickets to fans for their next away game in a UEFA competition. This penalty was imposed after fans displayed a banner commemorating Mladic during a Europa League match against Viktoria Plzen.
Mladic had been a fugitive for over a decade before his arrest in 2011. He was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment.