The Yugoslav and Bosnian national
soccer teams recently played a match in Sarajevo, the city besieged by
Yugoslav-backed Serb forces during the war.
"Though the match -- won by Yugoslavia, 2-0 -- was relatively
peaceful, the experience of the war permeated the event," the Los Angeles Times
reported. "Fans shouted the names of wartime leaders, waved the
wartime flags and shouted religious slogans. Still, the deadly
potency of such language seemed truly diminished. 'This is finally
just football now; the war is over,' said Vahidin Hodzic, 29,
a Bosnian Muslim veteran of the war."
However, "eight people were arrested and 25 were hurt in clashes
between Bosnian fans and police after the match," Associated Press
reported. Supporters of the Yugoslav team chanted Karadzic's name,
inflaming anger among the Bosnian crowd. Police protected
Serb fans as they left the stadium, but some Bosnian fans then
attacked the officers, Sarajevo police told AP.