Croatia Football Club Head in Ustasa Cap Controversy

Hrvoje Males, 32, the president of the Split-based FK Hajduk, said in a statement the image "did not represent his personal views or himself as an individual in any way whatsoever".

Rather, he said, it was "the result of his youthful indiscretions".

The Ustasha regime was in power in the Nazi-allied puppet state of Croatia during the Second World War. They were responsible for mass killings of Serbs, Jews and Roma in death camps such as Jasenovac.

"I was surprised to see the publication of the photo with me wearing the Ustasha cap and the media reports about it. Although the photo is authentic, it does not represent my views or me as a person in any way," Males said.

"I am not burdened by the past and I do not advocate any ideology. On the contrary, I was brought up in the Christian spirit, in a family which was always calling for tolerance and respect for people of other nationalities, races and religions," the statement continued.

He also apologized to anyone who "may have been offended in any way" by the evidence of his "youthful indiscretions".

The situation is being investigated by the city's police, Tanjug news agency reported.

"We will find out about the authenticity of the photo and determine whether there are any criminal or civil liabilities in consultation with the relevant prosecutor's office," a spokeswoman for the police department of the city of Split, Marina Kraljevic-Gudelj, told reporters.