Hajduk congratulate Torcida on 76th birthday a week after UEFA sanctions, fans divided

Hajduk Split marked the 76th birthday of its supporters' group Torcida on Wednesday with a short message on social media. The greeting came a week after the club announced UEFA's sanctions over its Conference League match against Ajax, and, according to Sportnet, Index.hr and Jutarnji list, it prompted a mixed reaction among fans online.

The message

Torcida was founded on 28 October 1950, and Croatian media describe it as the oldest organised fan group in Europe. The club's post read:

"Happy 76th birthday to the oldest fan group in Europe. For Hajduk, Split and Croatia, Torcida is always there." Original: "Sretan 76. rođendan najstarijoj navijačkoj skupini u Europi. Za Hajduk, Split i Hrvatsku – Torcida uvijek tu je." (Hajduk, social media post, as quoted by Sportnet and Index.hr)

The UEFA decision

Hajduk beat Ajax 2-1 on 15 October. According to Sportnet, flares and heavy smoke on the north stand stopped the match for 12 minutes. UEFA's decision, as published by Hajduk on 21 October, closes the whole stadium for the club's fourth-round match against Sint-Truidense and imposes a €80,000 fine. A further closure of the whole stadium at one of the next European matches is suspended, and applies if the same or similar incidents involving pyrotechnics are repeated. The club was also fined €16,000 for blocked stairways in the stands.

In the same statement, Hajduk asked supporters to refrain from any unwanted behaviour at coming European matches, home and away, saying it can cause the club great financial and reputational damage.

Police inquiry

Index and Jutarnji list report that police opened a criminal investigation after some of those gathered at the Torcida march through Split before the match were reported to have shouted antisemitic messages and glorified Nazism and the Ustasha movement. We have not seen an official police statement in the reports we reviewed, and Hajduk's post does not refer to the investigation. Sportnet and Index also mention arrests of Torcida members in connection with the match.

Fan reaction

Jutarnji list reports that many Hajduk supporters joined in the congratulations in the comments on the club's Instagram post, while many others said the club should distance itself from supporters who damage it. These are comments from fans, not statements by Hajduk or Torcida.