Uefa has opened disciplinary proceedings against Croatia after a large swastika appeared to have been bleached into the turf before their Euro 2016 qualifier against Italy at the Stadion Poljud in Split.
Italy made a complaint to the European ruling body after the 1-1 draw. It was played behind closed doors on Friday after fans twice disrupted the fixture at San Siro in November.
The symbol was spotted during the first half and a Croatian football federation spokesman denounced it as “sabotage and a felony”. He added: “We expect police to identify the perpetrators. This is a disgrace for the whole of Croatia.
“As far as we have learned, the symbol was imprinted into the pitch between 24 and 48 hours before the match so that it could be visible during the game. We apologise to all fans watching the game on television, to both teams and to our guests from Italy for the Nazi symbol.”
The president of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, called for a swift investigation, saying: “This act has inflicted immeasurable damage on the reputation of Croatian citizens and their homeland all over the world. Therefore, we must finally put a stop to such things.
“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the swastika on the pitch. I demand an urgent investigation and a decisive response from the relevant institutions to find and process the perpetrators.”
