{
  "id": 6163232,
  "title": "Red Star Belgrade fans, club pay tribute to late war criminal Ratko Mladic",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/red-star-belgrade-fans-club-pay-tribute-to-late-war-criminal-ratko",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-07T19:56:23.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/red-star-belgrade-fans-club-195623809.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Red Star Belgrade is facing backlash after fans paid tribute to former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic during a match. The Serbian capital witnessed thousands marching to honor Mladic after his death in August at the age of 84, while his funeral was held in the city on Monday. Mladic, convicted in 2017 by the International Criminal Court for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity during the 1992-1995 conflict in the former Yugoslavia, was sentenced to life imprisonment. Despite his crimes, including the mass killing of around 8,000 Bosniak Muslims in Srebrenica in 1995 and the siege of Sarajevo that resulted in over 10,000 deaths, Mladic remains a beloved figure among nationalist Serbians, many of whom are Red Star's ultras. The club honored Mladic with a moment of silence before Sunday's game and shared a tribute video on social media. However, Red Star has previously faced fines for similar tributes, with UEFA imposing a €90,000 penalty for displaying a banner celebrating Mladic during a Europa League playoff match. This incident highlights the club's ongoing struggle with honoring a convicted war criminal while navigating the complex relationship between Serbian nationalism and football culture.",
  "summary": "Red Star Belgrade is under fire after the club's supporters held up a massive tifo honoring late war criminal Ratko Mladic.",
  "key_points": [
    "Red Star Belgrade fans honored Ratko Mladic during match.",
    "Mladic convicted for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity.",
    "Club fined €90,000 for similar tribute in Europa League match."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "BBC Sport Football",
        "title": "Red Star fans unveil tifo of war criminal Mladic before derby",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/red-star-fans-unveil-tifo-of-war-criminal-mladic-before-derby",
        "published": "2026-09-07T11:35:38.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}