Zagreb – Last August 25, when Milan drew in Group E of the Champions League, it was unpredictable that all four teams would go into the final day hoping to qualify for the round of 16 unchanged. Unfortunately, matches with Dinamo Zagreb were expected to be full of tackles, ambushes and risks, with Zagreb Ultra – the Bad Blue Boys, among Europe’s most feared – to ignite the spark. It happened in the first leg in Milan on September 14, and there is a real risk in the wake of this return leg in Croatia. Where, to avoid danger and avoid contact between ultra rivals, the Croatian police have been moving for weeks in close cooperation with the Italian police, which managed to prevent attacks and limit the consequences of what was announced a month ago. The animosity between the two teams’ rabid supporters, born of an inextricable connection with groups traveling in the wake of other clubs: AC Milan fans and their Serbian counterparts at Partizan Belgrade, not exactly popular in these parts, is historic.

The risk is high in the Balkan countries because of the mix between football and nationalism, and a word that is always popular in the ultra code is also encouraged in special situations: revenge. In Milan, despite the results of the police and the digos prevention plan, the neo-Nazi parade was staged around more than four thousand fans from Croatia (20 complaints, 33 daspo, seizure of sticks, batons and knives). Ultras Zagreb’s San Siro, where there was still some tension, even saw a Croatian fan stabbed. About 400 Milan supporters will cross the Slovenian border, just 20 kilometers away, by bus to Zagreb and the Maksimir Stadium.

Alone, the few fans traveling by car are advised not to move alone in the center of the Croatian capital, in and around Jelacic Square, due to the risk of an ambush, not entirely unrelated to the influx of ultras from neighboring countries. Excludes Dynamo and Milan. There has never been a shortage of problems surrounding football matches in Croatia, and the Italian teams know something about that. In June 2015, the episode during the break between Croatia and Italy was sensational, which was played behind closed doors in Split precisely because of previous events: a drawing of a swastika appeared on the lawn. On the occasion of champions Atalanta-Dinamo in November 2019, Milan was the scene of similar parades and clashes as last September. The moment is very tense. In addition to the classic Hajduk-Dinamo clashes in the last championship match in Split, we saw something else: the fire of seats and Serbian, English and Irish flags at the Poljud Stadium.

A meeting of the Crimean Platform supporting Ukraine will be held in Zagreb tomorrow in the form of an interparliamentary summit attended by 42 representatives from 32 countries, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the US Congress. Nancy Pelosi. The summit will be co-chaired by the President of the Croatian Parliament, Gordon Jandrokovi, and the Head of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefan. Belgium, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Poland and Romania will send representatives from both houses of their respective parliaments, and eleven states will join the summit remotely, including France, Hungary, Japan and Canada. For Italy, Senator Giulio Tersi di Sant’Agata and former Foreign Minister and Chamber of Deputies Vice President Sergio Costa will attend in Zagreb. The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenksy will also address the participants of the video conference. At the conclusion of the works, a joint declaration will be adopted. Serbia, the only European country other than Belarus not to impose sanctions against Russia, has not accepted an invitation to participate. For Sabour, Parliament