RIAU24.COM – Croatia was fined by FIFA after some of its fans insulted Canadian goalkeeper Milan Borjan during a World Cup group stage match via a small banner with the words “Bonjan”.
Born in Knin, Croatia, Borjan is of Serbian origin who fled to Belgrade in 1995 during “Operation Storm”, Croatia's offensive in its war of independence.
Borjan then moved to Canada, where he now represents at international level, although he spent most of his club career in Serbia.
During Croatia's 4-1 victory over Canada, a flag was unfurled in the stands reading “Knin '95 – no one walks like Borjan”, while offensive chants were also allegedly directed at him.
Borjan called the abuse “primitive” after the match, while FIFA announced it would open an investigation.
FIFA's disciplinary proceedings ended with a decision to fine the Croatian Football Federation 50,000 Swiss francs.
A FIFA statement said: “The Croatian Football Federation has been fined CHF 50,000 for violations related to Article 16 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (using words and objects to send inappropriate messages for a sporting event) in relation to the behavior of Croatian supporters during the Croatia-Canada Match of the FIFA World Cup™ on November 27″, quoted Fotmob, Thursday 8/12/2022.
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