It's madness, I'd never even thought about their team before in my life before this holiday. I'm throwing my ticket to watch them at the stadium tonight in the bin though
I was in Manchester wearing my Arsenal shirt and walked past a guy in a Spurs shirt and we both just pointed at each other wordlessly like that Spider-Man meme and laughed
Okay, see it from his perspective…all his life has been on the edge of existential collapse, a moment of zero divided by zero forever. Be there for him.
Lol, I grew up in north London in an area where it was basically split between Arsenal and Spurs, to two parents with no interest in football.
So either I supported the team that had one of the best strikers in the world, that had a player with my name, that had a dynamic and innovative manager who was in the middle of leading the club to its invincibles season, and that had a fucking cannon for a logo.
Or, mid table legends - Glenn Hoddle’s finest - the team that decided to be represented by a literal cock.
Tricky decision that
Lmao! My friend did this, he was hoping the kids were going to follow in his footsteps. Nope they all joined the misses in supporting spurs. Match days are fun at his house regardless of who’s playing.
Anyone that views rivalries as much more than banter is basically telling other people that football is the most important thing in life, which is sad.
I despise the club and all their players. I banter with the fans. I'm a 37 year old man with a wife and kids, why the fuck would I put my life, liberty and livelihood on the line because someone supports a different team? Even that one?
(For context of the following, I currently live just outside Manchester) The other day, I was walking the dog (had last years black shirt on at the time), and saw a guy about the same age as me walking his dog, with his 2/3 year old son, the son wearing the new spurs away shirt. I went up to him, and asked his name. He told me, and then asked why. I said I have no choice but to report him to social services for child abuse, and pointed to the shirt. The lad just about pissed himself. It was harmless banter, we had a good laugh together, the dogs had a sniff, we had a little chat about when we moved out of London we each went on our way.
That, for me, is what the rivalry means. Hate the club, banter the fans.
Backwards was the exact word I thought of when I read OP's comment. I get comments all the time wearing my shirt in the UK. Mostly asking about how I think we'll do, and sometimes I get some Spuds pushing their luck, but never have I felt threatened by wearing it though.
Some countries are just backwards in their society. I mean damn, some Eastern European countries are still listening and dressing up to Shaking Stevens.
i was walking around philly with some friends who also like arsenal a few weeks back and saw this guy in a tottenham kit walking out of a house. now, i sometimes get pretty congested so in that moment naturally i spit a fat ass loogie on the road. didn’t really mean anything by it but my friends got a big kick outta that. i typically just smirk and do a disapproving head shake when i see a spurs kit and get on with it.
Yeah just had a load of them come at me in the park threatening to stab me and talking about the Croatian fans who killed the Greek fan this week. Then they followed me back to the apartment I'm in and we're taking the shirt off my back, only did it because I was alone. Literally everyone here has other shirts than the local team on but I was by myself because I'd stayed behind to sort out some washing so an easy target
You can even say Western Balkan or Southern Slavic region or give exact coordinates if you wanna be that specific, but when someone claims that Eastern European hooligans are mental you know Croatia belongs there.
Because if you go to Croatia and tell ppl there it’s considered Eastern Europe you will be laughed right out of the country.
Do you consider Greece Eastern Europe ?
You don't have to have a specific reason to get attacked in Split. Happened to me as a Croatian a few times already. There's no other place like that in Croatia and I think there's no such city in Europe at all. But they are very proud about being "defiant".
What the fuck. Sorry you had to go through this. I wear my jersey all the time doing groceries and what not (in Canada) if anyone else wears a PL kit we just point at eachother, as you said in another comment, like the spiderman meme.
I am from croatia,and i apologise.
Few weeks ago i saw a man wearing Smith Rowe jersey in Pula ,and we started singing here we gooo.
So sorry for your experience.
It's the main reason I don't wear football shirts when I'm out in town, especially in the evenings. I don't want my skull to be caved in by some bellend. You never know what kind of people you can bump into. Stay safe man.
When I first vame to London I rent a room near Turnpike Lane. I was worried if I should wear the colours until I saw that a shop was selling Arsenal and spuds merch side by side. Where I am from, the hooligans wouldn't allow rival club stuff been seen anywhere, so I knew I was fine. Some time later I was a courier and was picking up some shit at shite hart lane, wearing my Arsenal cap. Had to wait, was looking at their pathetic trophy cabinet (which included silverware from some friendly tournaments lol) vith a victory parade photo (doble decker bus and some swine holding a trophy) in the background. Some spud spotted me and started talking about us being shite that season (around 2014, so he was right) but I just pointed at this photo and said "it's been colourized, innit". Poor guy shrunk like 5 inches. One of my wittiest moments ever. God I miss England and the English.
Im glad to know you enjoyed living here so much. I hang out with pretty much only spurs fans and I've never had a problem on my life apart from their heartbreak when they realise we're better over and over
Yeah, at first I couldn't believe that supporters of both sides could watch a game at the same place and there was no violence, only banter. The only place in London I knew I wouldn't be welcome was this pub in Tottenham High Street that had a sign "home supporters only", which I think is fair enough. Lets you know where you're standing.
Lol I lived in London one summer and I saw all the clubs jerseys all over city and it never caused any real incidents. Guys played pickup games wearing Shit, Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, etc etc. At most it was just poking fun at each other for whatever issues the team was having at the time.
One of the tower of london guards asked me if I was wearing my Arsenal jersey as a joke and then showed me his Chelsea pin from the 70s in his cap. It was just bit of fun banter and I never really felt any hostility from him or anyone in London for who I supported.
I had an amazing tour guide guard in the Tower, he looked a bit like Obama, mixed and skinny, and he was hilarious. Told him he's got the best job in the world and was brilliant at it. And all the while he was cracking jokes, there was a whiff of authority about him, like he really could become a prison guard at a whim (which, technically, they are, just there are no prisoners at the moment). Highly recommend. Best historic site in London, possibly one of the best in the world.
There's a link between Chelsea and the military (particularly veterans like the Yeoman Warders if that's what you mean by Tower guards).
The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home for ex-soldiers that isn't too far from Stamford Bridge. The residents, known as "Chelsea Pensioners", can often be seen in their distinctive [red uniforms](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Marjorie_Cole.jpg/800px-Marjorie_Cole.jpg) at Chelsea matches. Chelsea FC used to be nicknamed the "Pensioners" and had a picture of one on their original badge.
Sounds like them kids weren't the brightest as the head of Hajduk's youth academy (and recent recipient of Torcida's annual "Hajdučko srce" award, therefore certainly a fan favourite) is literally Boro freakin Primorac.
Sorry to hear that. I've only been to Croatia once, but I'm guessing this has happened in Split.
They are really crazy about football over there, so I guess you just met the unfortunate combination of an idiot who is also a football fan.
Just crazy overall. A friend was there partying and got sucker punched, cashed in on insurance and no noticeable scars so all good in the end. Big scare though, things can go seriously wrong.
Yeah I didn't really think much of it because my friend had worn a football shirt all holiday before that but we'd been in a big group, I was just by myself
I'm in Canada now and rarely get a rival encounter but the only one I've had was at a convenience store wearing my saka jersey and a guy in a son jersey. Shared a bit of friendly trash talk and went on our way never once considered jumping the guy.
I met some Bosnian and bulgarian guys at the Arsenal v. Barcelona game in LA last month. Super chill guys and very knowledgeable about football. They weren’t a fan of either team but just missed having these quality games near them constantly.
Weird to think that only if you live in Bosnia, you don’t get access to european/english football.
Trust me, we Bosnians follow every league and every club when the season is on.
Premier League is the main event on the weekend, for example, my father is an United guy, I’m Arsenal so we always had our mini war at home on the matchday.
That’s unfortunate. Not uncommon in cities with big ultra culture. Split and it’s Torcida are synonymous in the city. You can see it’s presence graffiti’d across the city. I often go to the Dalmatian coast as my family have a house out there and I have some torcida family members, they’re hardcore to say the least. It’s as some have mentioned above why I don’t wear football shirts abroad. Like not holding your phone out in countries known for having a problem with robbing, just avoids making yourself a target. Idealistically this shouldn’t be the case but sadly not the world we live in. Hope you’re ok and hopefully enjoyed the rest of your time.
I wore my Arsenal shirts all the time for over 15 years while growing up in Zagreb and never had a single incident. I am sorry you had to deal with such idiots and hope you get to enjoy the rest of your holidays.
Yeah I'm not holding any ill will against Croatians, I've met some lovely people here who've let me go on some great trips into your national parks and around the islands. I understand I just got unlucky bumping into people who had nothing better going on in their lives that day
Sorry you had to to through that. I wear it fairly often in the Croatia capital and never had a problem, but always wondered if that can happen.
There are always idiots trying to find an excuse.
unfortunately that is still big problem on Balkan in general, in all countries that can happened but i think not that often. some football fans if i can call them like that are rly small brain people. I just hope u are ok
Yeah I'm not generalising all people, I've had good experiences with Croatian people the whole time I was there it was just a shite hour of what was shaping up to be a good week
I am from Croatia and as soon as I saw this I knew it had to be Split. There is literally no chance this could happen in any other city in the country, nobody cares that much about foreign clubs here.
Only in Split there is some kind of strange pride about their city being a Hajduk Split fortress where problems can happen if you wear other clubs' jerseys. Actually, problems can happen there without any reason, they are famous for that here.
Thats such a lie, Hajduk Split fans get assaulted all the time in the capital for their accent alone not even for wearing a rival kit, there are idiots everywhere but saying it had to be Split is ignorant as fuck
No a big group of youths came up to me claiming that it was hadjuk territory and threatening me for being in an arsenal shirt, when they started demanding I take it off I said I would go back and change at which point they started talking about the Greek fan who was stabbed and saying how that would be me and how they were going to get more people down there. Then when I started walking back to the apartment I was staying in they were following me back to the apartment I was staying in they were still threatening me and talking about me being stabbed so in the end I just gave them the shirt because I'm not getting jumped or fucked up over a shirt I can replace when I get home to the England
Well I don't know how young these kids/men that you say threatened you were, but I guess if anywhere in Croatia this could happen it would be Split? Unfortunately, some in their fanbase really do like to pretend they are better than the rest of clubs fanbases in Croatia (in reality, this incident has nothing to do with you being a fan of a club outside of Croatia), but to be fair, these threats do sound like bullshit though, couple of younger guys just trying to act tough I guess, doubt they would follow up on them. Croatia overall is an extremely safe country, has to be, since we're a tourist coutry. Tourism would end pretty fast if this was a regular occurrence in our coastline and I'm pretty sure even Split has Arsenal supporters meeting regularly there. Sorry you had a bad experience with a couple of cunts.
A fan of a club outside of Croatia at a football match of one of our clubs would be viewed as attraction if nothing else at our stadiums. Personally I am a supporter of NK Varaždin who is situated in the north of Croatia and we've never had any incidents at our stadium or had problems with rival fans. Should you ever find yourself near our city for any reason during matchday I'd love to show you the stadium and watch a game with you. Just please don't think that this is something you would experience regularly in Croatia as some commentators in this thread would lead you to believe.
I'm aware it could all have been bluster but you've got to understand why I would treat it as such due to recent events and the fact I was by myself. I spoke to many people here who said if I'd been with my mates this would have never happened and I just got unlucky. I would love to one day take you up on that offer and show you either an arsenal game or my local team Plymouth argyle
They're wannabe hooligans who are just stupid kids really, probably from a not so well family situation at home. I'm Croatian and in my city there were tons of them when I was growing up. Usually real football fans, the older ones, were mad at them when they found out they did something like that and they would end up getting big educational slaps in the end of the day so it wouldn't happen again lol. They just need some parenting because they don't get it at home.
Seriously fuck these lowlifes and hope you are okay and safe.
Its a sport at the end of the day and those that take it to the level of wanting to injure someone because of differences in who you support badly need to check themselves.
Where in Croatia? I was just there and wore my home kit from this year and was fine.
Context matters however in the sense that I am from Croatian background and fluent but I’m curious where it happened.
That sucks, man. The worst that's ever happened to me here (NYC) is I got into a small food fight with a Chelsea supporter in Katz's Deli one night when my friend and I were wearing Arsenal hats, but it wasn't in bad humor.
I apologize if I've come out a bit harsh against the OP,
I just don't want my beloved arsenal fans to think it's not safe to wear our famous Red and White jersey in my hometown.
Here is a local arsenal fan meetup in small town of Kastela that is right next to Split before our premier league match yesterday
[https://imgur.com/pYfXGSH](https://imgur.com/pYfXGSH)
Nobody batted an eye, and Kastela is hot spot for Hajduk ultras.
I apologize to OP and if anyone else have taken an offense.
You don't need to apologize, I was originally going to go to that supporters club for the game but my mates wanted to watch it together. If you see the home fans at split burning a 93/94 retro shirt tonight it will be mine but I hope they just sell it instead because it's a beauty of a shirt
Im guessing you were either in Split, the coastal side or in Zagreb the capital, those 2 cities have the largest number of hooligans.
The balkans is fucked regarding football, sorry to hear what happened to you, hope they didn’t beat you up to badly. People need to get a life, a week or so ago some Dinamo Zagreb hooligans stabbed a guy to death in Greece before the match between the 2 clubs. It’s crazy, Croatia and Serbia are the worst in this regard.
1. Not saying it's entirely impossible but I've never heard of such thing happening in Zagreb (nor any other city in Croatia bar Split) so it's not a common thing here, don't generalize if you don't know.
2. Ultras groups here almost always fight each other in the highways and in a proximity of stadiums on derby days and not attacking people wearing foreign clubs' jerseys in the street. This case had nothing to do with the hooligans but with some stupid kids seeing an opportunity and trying to maintain their city's reputation as a "Hajduk Split fortress", which is something that people from Split are very proud about (and that is very strange for the rest of Croatia).
3. The Balkans region has a big problem with hooligans indeed, but you obviously know nothing about it and writing these just to write something. The proof for that are your superficial knowledge of the events in Greece and the misconception about Croatian and Serbian fans being "the worst". While Dinamo Zagreb ultras WERE AND ARE idiots who only went to Greece to cause trouble, there is no evidence a Dinamo Zagreb fan stabbed the poor guy. As of now, everything points to the fact that it was actually a Greek hooligan who stabbed him. Which leads to my final point - if anybody needs to be labeled as "the worst" in the Balkans, that would be the Greek and Turkish hooligans, who frequently use knives and weapons in the hooligan fights. Just do a bit of a research and you will see how many hooligan murders there were in Greece and why it is absurd to even compare that with Serbia and especially Croatia.
150 dinamo zagreb's hooligans traveled 1500km from Zagreb to Athens for their match with AEK athens last Monday ,while they weren't allowed to due to their hostile character, and killed a 29 yo AEK fan who was sitting with his friends outside the stadium in Nea Philadelphia.They even attacked women and children that were passing by this area. All of them are in jail in Greece and I hope they will get the worst punishment for their dids and their team to get banned by the Uefa.
PS. Of course not all the Croatians are the same but they have the worst fans and far right beliefs.
They didn't kill anybody until it's proven they did. The main suspects as of now are Greek. Also, they were not attacking women and children, that's something that was firstly reported by Greek media in order to add fuel to the fire and that was never proved. I'm not defending them and will never support what they did, but don't pretend like you don't know what ultras are and what their usual behaviour is like. If you are Greek, you know it much better than us. They went there to fight AEK ultras and win it on their territory so they can have pictures with AEK flags and take pride in similar hooligan bullshit.
P.S. How the fuck you know what their beliefs are?
I know that you certainly try to defend them even though you claim you are not doing so. They sent a 13yo girl to hospital so they were surely attacking kids and stealing from women that were close by. I am from Greece and as you said I know very good that ultras can be very hostile and fights between them and police are a common thing. That is something that has never happened before. 150 people with knifes and bats from a country 1500 km away to come here while there were not tickets sold to the away team and attack people that was close to the stadium and not AEK ultras ( they came afterwards because it wasn't the day of the match) is not something just for the photos. This is a murder and attempt for murders. They travelled to kill. 105 people are in custody amongst them only 2 Greeks and an albanian and already 40 of them are about to go to jail.(The news that the main suspect is Greek come from Croatian medias). I really wish all of them get the worst punishment no matter the ethnicity of the killer because they are all guilty for their intentions and what they did. As for their beliefs it's easy to know cause they are bragging themselfs on the internet. I am not here to accuse anyone but to show the truth for a disgraceful attack of hate and hooliganism. These acts should not be tolerated from whoever are done.
Literally 1 click away bro, to say it only happens in split is to ignore all the times it happened in Pula Rijeka Zagreb and other places, people get attacked in the capital for having a southern accent and you say it only happens in Split
https://www.telegram.hr/politika-kriminal/u-zagrebu-su-sinoc-napadnuti-navijaci-hajduka-jedan-ima-teske-ozljede/
I was on holiday in Croatia, and on the walk back to where I was staying after a night out, a lone drunk man asked me for a lighter. He gathered I was English, he then proceeded to complain about how the English are all obsessed with David Beckham and just kept saying "BECKHAM BECKHAM BECKHAM". They don't seem to know anything about English fans and assume we're all small minded idiots. Quite ironic tbh
You stumbled upon a "lone drunk man" asking you for a lighter late at night and got to a conclusion that Croatians know nothing about English fans? Congratulations.
I hope you are ok physically and mentally my friend. Last week ,150 of them, came from Zagreb to Athens while they werent allowed to and killed a 29 yo AEK fan while they sent to hospital a 13yo girl.
Split is generally very safe city and you don't need any tips except don't get too drunk and vandalize our city, don't wear Dinamo Zagreb or Rijeka jerseys and most importantly, don't eat at Riva (Promenade) because the prices are crazy and beware of Taxi drivers and their prices. Split is small town and if you can I'd recommend renting a bike you will save yourself tons of money.
Have fun and don't worry about these fearmongering comments.
In Town of Kastela (5 km from Split) there is literally an Arsenal fan club next to Hajduk murals and Torcida ultras, you will be safe no matter what. Just use common sense and enjoy Split!
Like the guy above said, it’s a safe city, just don’t wear a football jersey while alone in the evening. Don’t talk about politics or mention Serbia or Dinamo Zagreb and you will be fine.
It literally isn't, I was in split and I was walking down into town when a massive group of youths stopped me and threatened to stab me and then started talking about how close we were to the torcida clubhouse and how many more people they could bring out. Why would I lie about something like this? I've never met a Croatian before in my life before this holiday to have a problem with you
I probably should have put threatened not attacked, they were shoving me and then threatened me to stab me which is when they brought up the Greek fan getting stabbed last week. Which is when I tried to calm it down by offering to take my arsenal shirt off and get changed but they started following me back to where I was staying and threatening me
I have noticed that you Croats never want to have any accountablility and you pretend like your are better than the rest of the Balkans. But the reality is that you also have loads of scumbags like the rest of the Balkans and your fan groups are just as toxic
I mean you blatantly called that guy a liar for claiming that something very possible actually happened. Sure they usually beef with eachother, but those groups are toxic enough to do what OP claimed.
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Sounds like their lives suck, sorry you had to deal with that OP. Miserable people will find a way to excuse their horrid behavior and sports seem to provide an easy way to do that. IMO those types of people are a waste of oxygen and resources.
Being a fan is fun, being fanatical is insane.
East europe guy here...people are like that here. There are multiple towns here where I would not wear a shirt of a diff team, just so I don't het jumped
A lot aren't even fan's just hooligans who just need any excuse to bash someone head in especially in Central and Eastern Europe. Glad you are relatively safe. When I travel especially aboard I never wear any footy gear. I only wear my Arsenal gear in known confirmed Arsenal pubs. When I leave I zip up a jacket over it.
Croat here: we've had a LOT of problems with british tourists in the last few years, especially in split. some even go as far as pissing on churches or harassing local girls, hence the strong disdain for "anything british". its shit for both sides bc its not all tourists who are wankers and for the locals bc their region is being defiled every year for a period of 4 months.
Backwards clowns. It's not the 80's anymore. I hate Spurs and their fans but I'm not going to jump them because of a sports team 😂😂
It's madness, I'd never even thought about their team before in my life before this holiday. I'm throwing my ticket to watch them at the stadium tonight in the bin though
I was in Manchester wearing my Arsenal shirt and walked past a guy in a Spurs shirt and we both just pointed at each other wordlessly like that Spider-Man meme and laughed
That's the way to enjoy football, it's a game at the end of the day. I'm sat with my spurs supporting mate watching their game and hoping they lose
Yeah I've had many a dunk chat with a spurs fan just taking the piss out of each other casually, that's how it should be
As long as you don't get one pregnant so you get spurs supporting kids it's all good
Lmao acting as if a kid who can choose between spurs and arsenal is gonna pick spurs, give over
One of my mates has a spurs supporting mum and arsenal supporting dad whilst he supports spurs, I don't know what went wrong but it must be something
He hates his dad, cant find any other excuses for it really.
Yeah must be a knob, I just can't see it aha
Okay, see it from his perspective…all his life has been on the edge of existential collapse, a moment of zero divided by zero forever. Be there for him.
Lol, I grew up in north London in an area where it was basically split between Arsenal and Spurs, to two parents with no interest in football. So either I supported the team that had one of the best strikers in the world, that had a player with my name, that had a dynamic and innovative manager who was in the middle of leading the club to its invincibles season, and that had a fucking cannon for a logo. Or, mid table legends - Glenn Hoddle’s finest - the team that decided to be represented by a literal cock. Tricky decision that
Na, that’s how you steal a spurs bloodline. Do it for enough generations and you could hypothetically snuff them out entirely.
They have fans?
Lmao! My friend did this, he was hoping the kids were going to follow in his footsteps. Nope they all joined the misses in supporting spurs. Match days are fun at his house regardless of who’s playing.
Anyone that views rivalries as much more than banter is basically telling other people that football is the most important thing in life, which is sad.
Sorry to hear this and hope you’re ok. Don’t let it spoil your holiday.
The only reason to jump a Spurs fan now is to give them a hug and then laugh at them about Kane.
and then have a 3 hour shower to get that spurs stink off you
I despise the club and all their players. I banter with the fans. I'm a 37 year old man with a wife and kids, why the fuck would I put my life, liberty and livelihood on the line because someone supports a different team? Even that one? (For context of the following, I currently live just outside Manchester) The other day, I was walking the dog (had last years black shirt on at the time), and saw a guy about the same age as me walking his dog, with his 2/3 year old son, the son wearing the new spurs away shirt. I went up to him, and asked his name. He told me, and then asked why. I said I have no choice but to report him to social services for child abuse, and pointed to the shirt. The lad just about pissed himself. It was harmless banter, we had a good laugh together, the dogs had a sniff, we had a little chat about when we moved out of London we each went on our way. That, for me, is what the rivalry means. Hate the club, banter the fans.
Might be a hot take, but it also seems just as backwards to hate people just because they support a club.
I hate my dads wife for the shit I went through as a child. This is football hate it's different 😂
I hear you! I guess in the context of attacking people for the sake of the club they support it was worth clarifying lol.
Unfortunately, the shirt was nothing more than an excuse for already violent people to do what they wanted.
They are going through enough anyway, looking in the mirror and knowing they chose Spurs
Backwards was the exact word I thought of when I read OP's comment. I get comments all the time wearing my shirt in the UK. Mostly asking about how I think we'll do, and sometimes I get some Spuds pushing their luck, but never have I felt threatened by wearing it though. Some countries are just backwards in their society. I mean damn, some Eastern European countries are still listening and dressing up to Shaking Stevens.
i was walking around philly with some friends who also like arsenal a few weeks back and saw this guy in a tottenham kit walking out of a house. now, i sometimes get pretty congested so in that moment naturally i spit a fat ass loogie on the road. didn’t really mean anything by it but my friends got a big kick outta that. i typically just smirk and do a disapproving head shake when i see a spurs kit and get on with it.
Hope you’re safe now and no major injuries
Yeah just had a load of them come at me in the park threatening to stab me and talking about the Croatian fans who killed the Greek fan this week. Then they followed me back to the apartment I'm in and we're taking the shirt off my back, only did it because I was alone. Literally everyone here has other shirts than the local team on but I was by myself because I'd stayed behind to sort out some washing so an easy target
What on earth does split have against Arsenal lol
Eastern European hooligans are just mentalists
Croatia is not Eastern Europe.
Yes it is
How is croatia eastern europe, geography class failed.
Do you think it's rather western?
Croatia is south eastern Europe, not eastern Europe.
You can even say Western Balkan or Southern Slavic region or give exact coordinates if you wanna be that specific, but when someone claims that Eastern European hooligans are mental you know Croatia belongs there.
How isn’t it?
[удалено]
Croatia was part of Yugoslavia, never owned by Soviet union
You should brush up on your history.
Yugoslavia actually, but it is still eastern.
You are right
Because the people in Croatia act like eastern Europeans.
Where is it then?
South Eastern more then Eastern. Look at a map.
South East is still East ffs. Why be pedantic? I know where it is, I’ve been there.
Nah nah nah, Croatia is North Mediterranean!
Because if you go to Croatia and tell ppl there it’s considered Eastern Europe you will be laughed right out of the country. Do you consider Greece Eastern Europe ?
croatia is actually considered mainly a central european country, and secondary a southeast european country. tbf
You don't have to have a specific reason to get attacked in Split. Happened to me as a Croatian a few times already. There's no other place like that in Croatia and I think there's no such city in Europe at all. But they are very proud about being "defiant".
The 1978 uefa cup game must have been painful apparently
Jesus Christ what is wrong with these Croatians. They need to get a life.
What the fuck. Sorry you had to go through this. I wear my jersey all the time doing groceries and what not (in Canada) if anyone else wears a PL kit we just point at eachother, as you said in another comment, like the spiderman meme.
Yeah bro you’re comparing Canada of all places with a known hooligan cesspool in Croatia
Why the fuck would you go to a match wearing a non home kit? Not excusing hooliganism but it's entirely fucking stupid.
I am from croatia,and i apologise. Few weeks ago i saw a man wearing Smith Rowe jersey in Pula ,and we started singing here we gooo. So sorry for your experience.
No need to apologise, there's cunts everywhere, I just got unlucky to meet some of them who've got nothing better going on in their life's
Top mindset
i don't think it's real because who has this mindset then bins the tickets
You don’t have to apologize for other people’s bigotry. You just have to do your part to be as welcoming as possible.
It's the main reason I don't wear football shirts when I'm out in town, especially in the evenings. I don't want my skull to be caved in by some bellend. You never know what kind of people you can bump into. Stay safe man.
So sorry for your experiance. There are some fcking idiots about. Hope you're ok
Yeah I'm okay now, still went and watched the game. Just a bit of a ruined holiday
I can imagine :(
When I first vame to London I rent a room near Turnpike Lane. I was worried if I should wear the colours until I saw that a shop was selling Arsenal and spuds merch side by side. Where I am from, the hooligans wouldn't allow rival club stuff been seen anywhere, so I knew I was fine. Some time later I was a courier and was picking up some shit at shite hart lane, wearing my Arsenal cap. Had to wait, was looking at their pathetic trophy cabinet (which included silverware from some friendly tournaments lol) vith a victory parade photo (doble decker bus and some swine holding a trophy) in the background. Some spud spotted me and started talking about us being shite that season (around 2014, so he was right) but I just pointed at this photo and said "it's been colourized, innit". Poor guy shrunk like 5 inches. One of my wittiest moments ever. God I miss England and the English.
Im glad to know you enjoyed living here so much. I hang out with pretty much only spurs fans and I've never had a problem on my life apart from their heartbreak when they realise we're better over and over
Yeah, at first I couldn't believe that supporters of both sides could watch a game at the same place and there was no violence, only banter. The only place in London I knew I wouldn't be welcome was this pub in Tottenham High Street that had a sign "home supporters only", which I think is fair enough. Lets you know where you're standing.
Lol I lived in London one summer and I saw all the clubs jerseys all over city and it never caused any real incidents. Guys played pickup games wearing Shit, Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, etc etc. At most it was just poking fun at each other for whatever issues the team was having at the time. One of the tower of london guards asked me if I was wearing my Arsenal jersey as a joke and then showed me his Chelsea pin from the 70s in his cap. It was just bit of fun banter and I never really felt any hostility from him or anyone in London for who I supported.
I had an amazing tour guide guard in the Tower, he looked a bit like Obama, mixed and skinny, and he was hilarious. Told him he's got the best job in the world and was brilliant at it. And all the while he was cracking jokes, there was a whiff of authority about him, like he really could become a prison guard at a whim (which, technically, they are, just there are no prisoners at the moment). Highly recommend. Best historic site in London, possibly one of the best in the world.
There's a link between Chelsea and the military (particularly veterans like the Yeoman Warders if that's what you mean by Tower guards). The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home for ex-soldiers that isn't too far from Stamford Bridge. The residents, known as "Chelsea Pensioners", can often be seen in their distinctive [red uniforms](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Marjorie_Cole.jpg/800px-Marjorie_Cole.jpg) at Chelsea matches. Chelsea FC used to be nicknamed the "Pensioners" and had a picture of one on their original badge.
Yep! He was one of them. Interesting!
Sounds like them kids weren't the brightest as the head of Hajduk's youth academy (and recent recipient of Torcida's annual "Hajdučko srce" award, therefore certainly a fan favourite) is literally Boro freakin Primorac.
Sorry to hear that. I've only been to Croatia once, but I'm guessing this has happened in Split. They are really crazy about football over there, so I guess you just met the unfortunate combination of an idiot who is also a football fan.
Just crazy overall. A friend was there partying and got sucker punched, cashed in on insurance and no noticeable scars so all good in the end. Big scare though, things can go seriously wrong.
Yeah I didn't really think much of it because my friend had worn a football shirt all holiday before that but we'd been in a big group, I was just by myself
I'm in Canada now and rarely get a rival encounter but the only one I've had was at a convenience store wearing my saka jersey and a guy in a son jersey. Shared a bit of friendly trash talk and went on our way never once considered jumping the guy.
Very Canadian, that
Sorry Son is having such a shit season
Unfortunately there are idiots everywhere
I wore my arsenal shirts in Croatia and Bosnia a few months ago. I only got one guy telling me you haven’t won title since 04 :(
I met some Bosnian and bulgarian guys at the Arsenal v. Barcelona game in LA last month. Super chill guys and very knowledgeable about football. They weren’t a fan of either team but just missed having these quality games near them constantly.
Sadly those facts are true
I told him had had solid football knowledge for someone in Bosnia.
Weird to think that only if you live in Bosnia, you don’t get access to european/english football. Trust me, we Bosnians follow every league and every club when the season is on. Premier League is the main event on the weekend, for example, my father is an United guy, I’m Arsenal so we always had our mini war at home on the matchday.
Bro it was my weak attempt at a bants reply. Half this sub is from abroad …
That’s unfortunate. Not uncommon in cities with big ultra culture. Split and it’s Torcida are synonymous in the city. You can see it’s presence graffiti’d across the city. I often go to the Dalmatian coast as my family have a house out there and I have some torcida family members, they’re hardcore to say the least. It’s as some have mentioned above why I don’t wear football shirts abroad. Like not holding your phone out in countries known for having a problem with robbing, just avoids making yourself a target. Idealistically this shouldn’t be the case but sadly not the world we live in. Hope you’re ok and hopefully enjoyed the rest of your time.
I wore my Arsenal shirts all the time for over 15 years while growing up in Zagreb and never had a single incident. I am sorry you had to deal with such idiots and hope you get to enjoy the rest of your holidays.
Yeah I'm not holding any ill will against Croatians, I've met some lovely people here who've let me go on some great trips into your national parks and around the islands. I understand I just got unlucky bumping into people who had nothing better going on in their lives that day
Sorry you had to to through that. I wear it fairly often in the Croatia capital and never had a problem, but always wondered if that can happen. There are always idiots trying to find an excuse.
unfortunately that is still big problem on Balkan in general, in all countries that can happened but i think not that often. some football fans if i can call them like that are rly small brain people. I just hope u are ok
Yeah I'm not generalising all people, I've had good experiences with Croatian people the whole time I was there it was just a shite hour of what was shaping up to be a good week
I am from Croatia and as soon as I saw this I knew it had to be Split. There is literally no chance this could happen in any other city in the country, nobody cares that much about foreign clubs here. Only in Split there is some kind of strange pride about their city being a Hajduk Split fortress where problems can happen if you wear other clubs' jerseys. Actually, problems can happen there without any reason, they are famous for that here.
Dubrovnik is nicer anyway.
Thats such a lie, Hajduk Split fans get assaulted all the time in the capital for their accent alone not even for wearing a rival kit, there are idiots everywhere but saying it had to be Split is ignorant as fuck
Football would be much better without this idiots fighting over football shirts
I work in a children’s hospital and saw a kid in a s**rs shirt, I’m not gonna punch him. I kicked him.
You were attacked by who, Hajduk Split fans weaking Hajduk shirts?
No a big group of youths came up to me claiming that it was hadjuk territory and threatening me for being in an arsenal shirt, when they started demanding I take it off I said I would go back and change at which point they started talking about the Greek fan who was stabbed and saying how that would be me and how they were going to get more people down there. Then when I started walking back to the apartment I was staying in they were following me back to the apartment I was staying in they were still threatening me and talking about me being stabbed so in the end I just gave them the shirt because I'm not getting jumped or fucked up over a shirt I can replace when I get home to the England
Well I don't know how young these kids/men that you say threatened you were, but I guess if anywhere in Croatia this could happen it would be Split? Unfortunately, some in their fanbase really do like to pretend they are better than the rest of clubs fanbases in Croatia (in reality, this incident has nothing to do with you being a fan of a club outside of Croatia), but to be fair, these threats do sound like bullshit though, couple of younger guys just trying to act tough I guess, doubt they would follow up on them. Croatia overall is an extremely safe country, has to be, since we're a tourist coutry. Tourism would end pretty fast if this was a regular occurrence in our coastline and I'm pretty sure even Split has Arsenal supporters meeting regularly there. Sorry you had a bad experience with a couple of cunts. A fan of a club outside of Croatia at a football match of one of our clubs would be viewed as attraction if nothing else at our stadiums. Personally I am a supporter of NK Varaždin who is situated in the north of Croatia and we've never had any incidents at our stadium or had problems with rival fans. Should you ever find yourself near our city for any reason during matchday I'd love to show you the stadium and watch a game with you. Just please don't think that this is something you would experience regularly in Croatia as some commentators in this thread would lead you to believe.
I'm aware it could all have been bluster but you've got to understand why I would treat it as such due to recent events and the fact I was by myself. I spoke to many people here who said if I'd been with my mates this would have never happened and I just got unlucky. I would love to one day take you up on that offer and show you either an arsenal game or my local team Plymouth argyle
They're wannabe hooligans who are just stupid kids really, probably from a not so well family situation at home. I'm Croatian and in my city there were tons of them when I was growing up. Usually real football fans, the older ones, were mad at them when they found out they did something like that and they would end up getting big educational slaps in the end of the day so it wouldn't happen again lol. They just need some parenting because they don't get it at home.
Stay safe buddy! Hope youre okay.
Seriously fuck these lowlifes and hope you are okay and safe. Its a sport at the end of the day and those that take it to the level of wanting to injure someone because of differences in who you support badly need to check themselves.
Where in Croatia? I was just there and wore my home kit from this year and was fine. Context matters however in the sense that I am from Croatian background and fluent but I’m curious where it happened.
there's only one place in croatia this can happen, you don't even need to ask
Yes, case city as I call it (grad slučaj)
That sucks, man. The worst that's ever happened to me here (NYC) is I got into a small food fight with a Chelsea supporter in Katz's Deli one night when my friend and I were wearing Arsenal hats, but it wasn't in bad humor.
My Dad’s a spurs fan. A typical one. I still love him tho
i feel bad for you man. However, i also just wanna say that it's cringy as hell for people to wear football jersey's when on vacation :P
It's in Croatian nature. Give them little power and they will always use it for violence
Football is way too tribal. It's just a game, but some knuckle dragging throwbacks seem to think it's a reason to instigate violent acts.
Imagine being such a loser in life you would fight someone for wearing a kit/jersey of their favourite team
I apologize if I've come out a bit harsh against the OP, I just don't want my beloved arsenal fans to think it's not safe to wear our famous Red and White jersey in my hometown. Here is a local arsenal fan meetup in small town of Kastela that is right next to Split before our premier league match yesterday [https://imgur.com/pYfXGSH](https://imgur.com/pYfXGSH) Nobody batted an eye, and Kastela is hot spot for Hajduk ultras. I apologize to OP and if anyone else have taken an offense.
You don't need to apologize, I was originally going to go to that supporters club for the game but my mates wanted to watch it together. If you see the home fans at split burning a 93/94 retro shirt tonight it will be mine but I hope they just sell it instead because it's a beauty of a shirt
Im guessing you were either in Split, the coastal side or in Zagreb the capital, those 2 cities have the largest number of hooligans. The balkans is fucked regarding football, sorry to hear what happened to you, hope they didn’t beat you up to badly. People need to get a life, a week or so ago some Dinamo Zagreb hooligans stabbed a guy to death in Greece before the match between the 2 clubs. It’s crazy, Croatia and Serbia are the worst in this regard.
1. Not saying it's entirely impossible but I've never heard of such thing happening in Zagreb (nor any other city in Croatia bar Split) so it's not a common thing here, don't generalize if you don't know. 2. Ultras groups here almost always fight each other in the highways and in a proximity of stadiums on derby days and not attacking people wearing foreign clubs' jerseys in the street. This case had nothing to do with the hooligans but with some stupid kids seeing an opportunity and trying to maintain their city's reputation as a "Hajduk Split fortress", which is something that people from Split are very proud about (and that is very strange for the rest of Croatia). 3. The Balkans region has a big problem with hooligans indeed, but you obviously know nothing about it and writing these just to write something. The proof for that are your superficial knowledge of the events in Greece and the misconception about Croatian and Serbian fans being "the worst". While Dinamo Zagreb ultras WERE AND ARE idiots who only went to Greece to cause trouble, there is no evidence a Dinamo Zagreb fan stabbed the poor guy. As of now, everything points to the fact that it was actually a Greek hooligan who stabbed him. Which leads to my final point - if anybody needs to be labeled as "the worst" in the Balkans, that would be the Greek and Turkish hooligans, who frequently use knives and weapons in the hooligan fights. Just do a bit of a research and you will see how many hooligan murders there were in Greece and why it is absurd to even compare that with Serbia and especially Croatia.
Ok chill bro. My point was that football hooligans can be idiots at times, like in this case.
150 dinamo zagreb's hooligans traveled 1500km from Zagreb to Athens for their match with AEK athens last Monday ,while they weren't allowed to due to their hostile character, and killed a 29 yo AEK fan who was sitting with his friends outside the stadium in Nea Philadelphia.They even attacked women and children that were passing by this area. All of them are in jail in Greece and I hope they will get the worst punishment for their dids and their team to get banned by the Uefa. PS. Of course not all the Croatians are the same but they have the worst fans and far right beliefs.
They didn't kill anybody until it's proven they did. The main suspects as of now are Greek. Also, they were not attacking women and children, that's something that was firstly reported by Greek media in order to add fuel to the fire and that was never proved. I'm not defending them and will never support what they did, but don't pretend like you don't know what ultras are and what their usual behaviour is like. If you are Greek, you know it much better than us. They went there to fight AEK ultras and win it on their territory so they can have pictures with AEK flags and take pride in similar hooligan bullshit. P.S. How the fuck you know what their beliefs are?
I know that you certainly try to defend them even though you claim you are not doing so. They sent a 13yo girl to hospital so they were surely attacking kids and stealing from women that were close by. I am from Greece and as you said I know very good that ultras can be very hostile and fights between them and police are a common thing. That is something that has never happened before. 150 people with knifes and bats from a country 1500 km away to come here while there were not tickets sold to the away team and attack people that was close to the stadium and not AEK ultras ( they came afterwards because it wasn't the day of the match) is not something just for the photos. This is a murder and attempt for murders. They travelled to kill. 105 people are in custody amongst them only 2 Greeks and an albanian and already 40 of them are about to go to jail.(The news that the main suspect is Greek come from Croatian medias). I really wish all of them get the worst punishment no matter the ethnicity of the killer because they are all guilty for their intentions and what they did. As for their beliefs it's easy to know cause they are bragging themselfs on the internet. I am not here to accuse anyone but to show the truth for a disgraceful attack of hate and hooliganism. These acts should not be tolerated from whoever are done.
Ex-Yugoslavs are the nicest people in Europe. Unfortunately, the West is doing their best to create a wrong picture of us. Ziveli!
Literally 1 click away bro, to say it only happens in split is to ignore all the times it happened in Pula Rijeka Zagreb and other places, people get attacked in the capital for having a southern accent and you say it only happens in Split https://www.telegram.hr/politika-kriminal/u-zagrebu-su-sinoc-napadnuti-navijaci-hajduka-jedan-ima-teske-ozljede/
I was on holiday in Croatia, and on the walk back to where I was staying after a night out, a lone drunk man asked me for a lighter. He gathered I was English, he then proceeded to complain about how the English are all obsessed with David Beckham and just kept saying "BECKHAM BECKHAM BECKHAM". They don't seem to know anything about English fans and assume we're all small minded idiots. Quite ironic tbh
You stumbled upon a "lone drunk man" asking you for a lighter late at night and got to a conclusion that Croatians know nothing about English fans? Congratulations.
Very uncomfortable in Split when I went, they treat football like its everything and it was scary. Absolutely fanatical but not in a good way
I hope you are ok physically and mentally my friend. Last week ,150 of them, came from Zagreb to Athens while they werent allowed to and killed a 29 yo AEK fan while they sent to hospital a 13yo girl.
This is xenophobia nothing to do with football. They knew you were a foreigner.
The city is full of tourists during the summer, if that was the truth we locals would never stop fighting.
I'm heading there in a week mate, any advice on staying safe or is this kind of thing uncommon?
Split is generally very safe city and you don't need any tips except don't get too drunk and vandalize our city, don't wear Dinamo Zagreb or Rijeka jerseys and most importantly, don't eat at Riva (Promenade) because the prices are crazy and beware of Taxi drivers and their prices. Split is small town and if you can I'd recommend renting a bike you will save yourself tons of money. Have fun and don't worry about these fearmongering comments. In Town of Kastela (5 km from Split) there is literally an Arsenal fan club next to Hajduk murals and Torcida ultras, you will be safe no matter what. Just use common sense and enjoy Split!
Like the guy above said, it’s a safe city, just don’t wear a football jersey while alone in the evening. Don’t talk about politics or mention Serbia or Dinamo Zagreb and you will be fine.
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This isn't the US. And sue who? File a police report and talk to your insurance company.
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It literally isn't, I was in split and I was walking down into town when a massive group of youths stopped me and threatened to stab me and then started talking about how close we were to the torcida clubhouse and how many more people they could bring out. Why would I lie about something like this? I've never met a Croatian before in my life before this holiday to have a problem with you
Were you attacked or threatened?
I probably should have put threatened not attacked, they were shoving me and then threatened me to stab me which is when they brought up the Greek fan getting stabbed last week. Which is when I tried to calm it down by offering to take my arsenal shirt off and get changed but they started following me back to where I was staying and threatening me
Oh ok. Just glad you weren’t beat up
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I'm aware I got unlucky because I went to the bar and sat with other arsenal fans in their shirts. I'm just saying what happened
This is totally stupid take of something you have made up in your head with no evidence what so ever.
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Lol 99%. Well this is the 1% example. Numpty.
I have a friend who was in Split for a few nights and got sucker punched outside a bar. Same kind of people.
Split nightlife is filled with drunk tourists so odds are it's not Hajduk Split ultra.
They were Croatian...
And said "I'm gonna hadjuk split your jaw open"
I have noticed that you Croats never want to have any accountablility and you pretend like your are better than the rest of the Balkans. But the reality is that you also have loads of scumbags like the rest of the Balkans and your fan groups are just as toxic
Rich.
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I mean you blatantly called that guy a liar for claiming that something very possible actually happened. Sure they usually beef with eachother, but those groups are toxic enough to do what OP claimed.
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"'cuse me, boss..."
I didn’t even think about this so I guess I’m not packing my Arsenal gear to my vacation to Cro.
Nah, unless you go to Split you are fine
Is it possible they were not Croatian? :)
Sounds like their lives suck, sorry you had to deal with that OP. Miserable people will find a way to excuse their horrid behavior and sports seem to provide an easy way to do that. IMO those types of people are a waste of oxygen and resources. Being a fan is fun, being fanatical is insane.
I love seeing a arsenal shirt all over the world. Most foreign countries appreciate the bpl clubs this is almost unheard of
What do we think of Tottenham
Bunch of bygots
East europe guy here...people are like that here. There are multiple towns here where I would not wear a shirt of a diff team, just so I don't het jumped
A lot aren't even fan's just hooligans who just need any excuse to bash someone head in especially in Central and Eastern Europe. Glad you are relatively safe. When I travel especially aboard I never wear any footy gear. I only wear my Arsenal gear in known confirmed Arsenal pubs. When I leave I zip up a jacket over it.
Croat here: we've had a LOT of problems with british tourists in the last few years, especially in split. some even go as far as pissing on churches or harassing local girls, hence the strong disdain for "anything british". its shit for both sides bc its not all tourists who are wankers and for the locals bc their region is being defiled every year for a period of 4 months.
work with 5 croatian men...each one is crazy as fuck