FK Željezničar issued an official statement regarding the incidents at the match against NK Široki Brijeg played on Sunday at the Pecara stadium.
Announcement we transmit in full:
At a time when European football insists on the highest standards of safety, equal treatment and zero tolerance for discrimination, today’s events in Široki Brijeg represent a serious step backwards and a direct violation of the basic principles on which the integrity of the sport rests.
Football club Željezničar expresses deeply concerned and strongly condemns today’s events at the match in Široki Brijeg, which represent a serious violation of the basic standards of safety, proportionality and treatment of fans in organized sports.
Proceedings officials and local security structures, including the interruption of the match and the forced removal of our fans without a clear legal basis, as well as the obvious and disproportionate use of force, are unacceptable and require an urgent institutional review.
FK Željezničar especially points to continuous and systematic inconsistency in the application of standards. While extreme nationalist outbursts, glorification of war criminals and open calls for violence are regularly tolerated in stadiums across Bosnia and Herzegovina, without an adequate reaction from the authorities, today we witnessed a drastic and selective intervention against our fans due to content that does not represent any form of hate speech or violation of regulations.
A draw between Široki Brijeg and Železničar, the match was marked by an interruption due to Maniac
The banner that was the reason for this reaction represents historical and social context related to the reintegration of a part of Sarajevo, including the Grbavica Stadium area, and as such cannot be qualified as a provocation or security threat. Any other interpretation represents a dangerous precedent and directly encroaches on the right to a dignified and legitimate expression of collective memory.
We remind you that FK Željezničar, Stadion Grbavica and our fans were among them direct victims of the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Precisely for this reason, we consider any limitation of the right to mark historical facts related to our Club and our city unacceptable.
The fact that such incidents occur continuously, including recent case in Dobojwhich passed without an adequate reaction from the competent authorities. This pattern of behavior seriously undermines confidence in the system and the integrity of the competition.
The match at Pecara was interrupted because of the Maniac banner, the police emptied the visiting stand
FK Željezničar expects an urgent, independent and transparent investigationwith a clear determination of individual and institutional responsibility. We demand an unequivocal and decisive reaction from the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in accordance with the standards set by UEFA and international sports regulations.
We emphasize that the Club, with the aim of protecting its fans, integrity and reputation, will consider all available legal and institutional mechanisms, including addressing the relevant international bodies.
FK Željezničar remains firmly committed to protecting its values and will not accept the selective application of rules or any form of institutional injustice.
Finally, we thank NK Široki Brijeg for proper hospitality, concludes the press release.
Let us remind you that the match between Široki Brije and Željezničar was interrupted for some time because of the flag that Željezničar fans displayed at Pecara. The “maniacs” raised a flag that symbolizes the reintegration of Grbavica, a few days after the day of celebration.
The flag depicts a situation in which, after the reintegration of Grbavica, changes the name of the street and removes the Serbian aggressorand returns the street name Hamdi Čemerlić.
After the Maniacs did not want to remove the flag, he followed chaos on the stand for visiting fans, which was attended by special police.
Extremely inappropriate chants could also be heard at the match. You could hear chants like: “Gazi Ustaše”, “Država Bosna”, “J*bi Široki, Široki maleni”, “J*bemo vam mater up***”, etc., so that the local fans would respond with slogans “Gazi Balije”.
NK #ŠirokiBrijeg – FK #Railwayman
The visiting fans also clashed with the police officers, the part of the stand where they are located is empty ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/49BVY14tAx
— Jabuka.tv (@jabukatv) March 22, 2026
Interestingly, part of BH media – which at the same time they didn’t even have their own journalists on the ground – he decided to market a one-sided and extremely problematic picture of the eventreporting exclusively on the “shameful chanting of the home fans”, completely covering up the context, the course of events and everything that preceded the interruptions, which we wrote about on Sunday.
(www.jabuka.tv)
