Kosor Condemns Croatian Fans

Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor has condemned nationalist chanting from football fans and has pledged to strengthen measures against hooligan violence.

AP reports that the prime minister's pledge comes after Croatian supporters at an under-21 international against Serbia chanted "Kill, kill the Serb" and "For the homeland, ready!" - the latter a saying of the Nazi-allied Croatian regime of WWII.

The Serbian coach was also attacked by two fans. He was unhurt, although a passerby, who sought intervene, received minor injuries, AP reports.

Kosor said that her government "will no longer tolerate" football-related violence and called for the suspension of matches and television coverage of games as the only way to get the message across to recalcitrant fans.

Speaking in an interview on national television, she noted that Croatian law currently allows the interruption of games in the event of violent incidents, and promised to pursue a legal emendation to allow matches to be stopped altogether.

The Croatian Times reports that 6,429 people have been arrested for football-related offenses in recent years.