PanamaTimes

Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

FIFA fines Croatia over fans’ abuse of Canadian goalkeeper

FIFA fines Croatia over fans’ abuse of Canadian goalkeeper

Penalty from world football’s governing body comes 48 hours before Croatia face Brazil in the World Cup quarter-finals.

FIFA has sanctioned World Cup quarter-finalists Croatia for abuse its supporters levelled at Canada’s goalkeeper during the two countries’ group-stage clash in Qatar last month.

World football’s governing body said on Wednesday that its Disciplinary Committee had fined the Croatian Football Federation 50,000 Swiss francs ($53,000) in relation to the behaviour of the Adriatic nation’s fans at the match on November 27.

During the fixture at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Croatian supporters were reported to have shouted insults at Milan Borjan, an ethnic Serb, who was born in Croatia but fled the country as a child.

He and his family left their hometown – situated in an ethnic Serbian region of Croatia – when it was taken by Croatian forces during a 1995 military operation that ended the Croatian War of Independence.

During and after the manoeuvre, labelled “Operation Storm”, an estimated 200,000 ethnic Serbs fled the country, many on tractors.

One banner displayed by Croatia fans during their side’s 4-1 victory was a flag of tractor manufacturer John Deere with the company’s slogan changed to read, “Nothing runs like Borjan”.

FIFA said its charge against Croatia related to breaches of article 16 of its disciplinary code, namely the “use of words and objects to transmit a message that is not appropriate for a sports event”.



There was no immediate response to FIFA’s announcement from Croatia or Canada’s football governing bodies, or from Borjan himself.

The governing body’s punishment came just 48 hours before Croatia take on Brazil in the last-eight on Friday. Canada were eliminated from the tournament in the group stages.


Serbia, Saudi Arabia also penalised


FIFA also fined the Football Association of Serbia 20,000 Swiss francs ($21,200) on Wednesday for a controversial flag depicting neighbouring Kosovo hung up in the team’s dressing room during their group-stage game against Brazil on November 24.

It showed a map of Serbia that included the territory of its former province and the slogan “No Surrender”.

The Football Federation of Kosovo had filed a complaint with FIFA about the flag, which was hung over two Serbian players’ lockers.


Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 but Belgrade does not recognise the statehood of its former province. Most Western countries, including the United States, do.

In a third case of disciplinary action, FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee handed the Saudi Arabian Football Association a 30,000 Swiss francs ($32,000) penalty for “team misconduct” after the Green Falcons collected six yellow cards during their group-stage matches against Argentina and Mexico on November 22 and November 30, respectively.

Both Serbia and Saudi Arabia failed to qualify for the World Cup’s knockout phase. There was no immediate response from either country’s footballing governing body to the fines imposed by FIFA.

Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Brazilian Congress Rejects Lula's Proposed Tax Increase on Financial Transactions
Landslide in Bello, Colombia, Results in Multiple Casualties
Papa Johns pizza surge near the Pentagon tipped off social media before Trump's decisive Iran strike
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Sole Survivor of Air India Crash Recounts Escape
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
UK and EU Reach Agreement on Gibraltar's Schengen Integration
Israeli Finance Minister Imposes Banking Penalties on Palestinians
U.S. Inflation Rises to 2.4% in May Amid Trade Tensions
Trump's Policies Prompt Decline in Chinese Student Enrollment in U.S.
Global Oceans Near Record Temperatures as CO₂ Levels Climb
Trump Announces U.S.-China Trade Deal Covering Rare Earths
Smuggled U.S. Fuel Funds Mexican Cartels Amid Crackdown
Protests Erupt in Los Angeles with Symbolic Flag Burning
Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban Targeting 12 Countries
Man Group Mandates Full-Time Office Return for Quantitative Analysts
JPMorgan Warns Analysts Against Accepting Future-Dated Job Offers
Builder.ai Faces Legal Scrutiny Amid Financial Misreporting Allegations
Japan Grapples with Rice Shortage Amid Soaring Prices
Goldman Sachs Reduces Risk Exposure Amid Market Volatility
HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker to Return to AIA as Non-Executive Chair
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Judge Blocks Trump's Ban on International Students at Harvard
Trump Proposes Travel Ban on 'Uncontrolled' Countries
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Eurozone Inflation Falls Below ECB Target to 1.9%
Call for a New Chapter in Globalisation Emerges
Blackstone and Rivals Diverge on Private Equity Strategy
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Netanyahu Accuses Western Leaders of 'Emboldening Hamas'
Escalating Trade Tensions and Market Reactions
OnlyFans Reportedly in Talks for $8 Billion Sale
JBS Gains Shareholder Approval for U.S. Stock Listing
Booz Allen Hamilton to Cut 2,500 Jobs Amid Federal Spending Reductions
Trump Signs Executive Orders to Accelerate Nuclear Energy Development
Harvard Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration's International Student Ban
Nippon Steel Forms Partnership with U.S. Steel, Headquarters to Remain in Pittsburgh
Trump Expands Tariff Threats to Apple and Samsung Devices
Oracle and OpenAI Plan $40 Billion Nvidia Chip Purchase for AI Data Center
×