In November last year, when Croatia's soccer team managed to win passage to the 2014 World Cup by the skin of their teeth, one of the players sieg-heiled with the crowd in triumph. While Nazi displays in Croatia - from soccer stadiums to symbols of state - have been ignored for over two decades, FIFA couldn't let this one go. "Crazy Joe" Šimunić was fined and suspended for 10 games - starting with the World Cup.
At the end of April, a Croatian web magazine (billing itself as "one of the world’s leading portals") quoted Šimunić's lawyer Davor Prtenjača, who was optimistic that the decision would be overturned on appeal. Citing the speed of the hearing - just a month after the appeal was filed - as cause for hope, Prtenjača added that "FIFA had given up on the assertion that “Za dom – spremni” was purely a fascist salute, but still claim Šimunić had provoked racial hated at Maksimir stadium."
Both the salute and the shield have been symbols of the Croatian Nazis (Ustasha), who committed genocidal atrocities against Serbs and Jews and Roma so vicious, even some Nazis were appalled. Yet the defense is now that the salute - the Croatian equivalent of the German sieg-heil - was "not purely fascist"? Same with the checkerboard shield, which the Croats claim is an ancient symbol of their people. So? The swastika is an ancient Hindu symbol, yet it's been banned throughout much of the world because of its association with Hitler.
But even allowing for all that, for the sake of argument, what explains this?
This photo is from a November 2010 game in the overwhelmingly Croat Široki Brijeg, in Herzegovina, where fans of the local team waved around both the actual Nazi flag and that of the Vatican - because the Church of Rome was a major backer of the Croatian Nazis, in WW2 and thereafter.
In any case, the "not solely fascist" defense didn't work. Šimunić lost his appeal on May 13, and the only way he will be involved with the World Cup - which begins this afternoon - is as a spectator.
At the end of April, a Croatian web magazine (billing itself as "one of the world’s leading portals") quoted Šimunić's lawyer Davor Prtenjača, who was optimistic that the decision would be overturned on appeal. Citing the speed of the hearing - just a month after the appeal was filed - as cause for hope, Prtenjača added that "FIFA had given up on the assertion that “Za dom – spremni” was purely a fascist salute, but still claim Šimunić had provoked racial hated at Maksimir stadium."
Both the salute and the shield have been symbols of the Croatian Nazis (Ustasha), who committed genocidal atrocities against Serbs and Jews and Roma so vicious, even some Nazis were appalled. Yet the defense is now that the salute - the Croatian equivalent of the German sieg-heil - was "not purely fascist"? Same with the checkerboard shield, which the Croats claim is an ancient symbol of their people. So? The swastika is an ancient Hindu symbol, yet it's been banned throughout much of the world because of its association with Hitler.
But even allowing for all that, for the sake of argument, what explains this?
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| Široki Brijeg, Herzegovina, November 2010 (source) |
In any case, the "not solely fascist" defense didn't work. Šimunić lost his appeal on May 13, and the only way he will be involved with the World Cup - which begins this afternoon - is as a spectator.
10 comments:
Yes FIFA indeed stood its ground and did the right thing for once. But Simunic will not be able to even attend any games and is barred from the stadiums where Croatia will play - a humiliating punishment.
Maybe he'll think before sieg-heiling the next time. Though I somehow doubt it.
Yet FIFA admits an Albanian association from Kosovo with all its associated pathologies. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
"Yet FIFA admits an Albanian association from Kosovo"
But they got the Serbian associations to approve. Then next thing you know there's a picture of the Albanian players themselves holding revolvers and posing for the camera.
Serbs are forever fools to give the Albanians anything - give them a hand they chop off your arm.
Julia Gorin had a good write-up of that, James.
The biggest problem here is that the Serbian institutions - from the government to the football association - have been taken over by the Quisling Cult, which has made its mission to validate everything the Serb enemies do or demand.
When a greek player did smth similar he got banned from the national team forever.
http://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%93%CE%B9%CF%8E%CF%81%CE%B3%CE%BF%CF%82_%CE%9A%CE%B1%CF%84%CE%AF%CE%B4%CE%B7%CF%82#.CE.9D.CE.B1.CE.B6.CE.B9.CF.83.CF.84.CE.B9.CE.BA.CF.8C.CF.82_.CF.87.CE.B1.CE.B9.CF.81.CE.B5.CF.84.CE.B9.CF.83.CE.BC.CF.8C.CF.82
here is the english version :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgos_Katidis
Seems like not all NAZIs are equals...
The Greeks disapprove of Nazism. Croats do not. Therein's the difference.
Greek Nazis are not at the moment as valuable to the empire as Slav Nazis.
Therefore they will keep supporting Ustase and Banderovci while seemingly suppressing Golden Dawn in Greece, without implying that the west did not create Golder Dawn in the first place.
They are behind everything, especially in banana south american republics like Greece.
As Mark Hackard noted the other day, Nazis were developed to begin with as a tool for a very specific dialectical purpose...
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