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A Serbian Super League derby between Crvena Zvezda and Partizan opened Sunday with a minute of silence for Ratko Mladic, known as "Butcher of Bosnia," the late former Bosnian Serb military commander who was serving a life sentence for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Before the 180th "Eternal Derby," the long-running rivalry between the two Belgrade clubs, Crvena Zvezda supporters displayed a large banner featuring Mladic, while fans of both teams chanted his name at Rajko Mitic Stadium.
According to Serbian media reports, the minute of silence ended after the stadium announcer said: "May eternal glory be his."
Crvena Zvezda went on to beat Partizan 2-1.
The display came only two days after European football's governing body UEFA fined Crvena Zvezda €90,000 ($104,523) over supporters' conduct during the club's Europa League playoff match against Viktoria Plzen in the Czech Republic on Aug. 27.
UEFA also barred the Serbian club from selling tickets to its supporters for its next away match in a European competition, citing charges that included racist or discriminatory behavior and the transmission of a message deemed unsuitable for a sporting event.
During the match in Plzen, Crvena Zvezda supporters chanted Mladic's name, saluted him and held up a banner reading: "General, eternal glory and thanks."
The club later shared an image of the banner on its social media accounts.
Mladic, the former commander of the Bosnian Serb Army, died in The Hague on Aug. 27 at the age of 84 while serving a life sentence.
He had been convicted over crimes committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War, including genocide for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, in which more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed.
The Srebrenica massacre has been recognized as genocide by international courts.
Mladic's burial was scheduled for Monday at Topcider Cemetery in Belgrade.
Crvena Zvezda supporters had honored Mladic in a similar way before, leading to earlier UEFA sanctions against the club.
In 2017, supporters displayed a banner and chanted his name during a Europa League match against BATE Borisov shortly after Mladic was sentenced to life imprisonment by the United Nations tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
UEFA initially ordered Crvena Zvezda to play a home match behind closed doors and imposed a €50,000 fine.
Following an appeal, the fine was cut to €30,000, while the stadium ban was suspended under a two-year probationary period.
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