Boban's punch to a policeman seen by the whole world

ZAGREB, (Patria) - Do you remember Zvonimir Boban's famous karate punch to a policeman's chest? It has been 28 years since that assault by a big star of the time on Refko Ahmetović symbolically marked the beginning of the end not only for football in the former Yugoslavia, but also for the then-state.

On May 13, 1990, the derby match between Dinamo Zagreb and Red Star was supposed to be played at the Maksimir stadium, but due to a mass brawl between the fans of the two clubs, the match was never finished.

The incidents occurred in a heated political atmosphere, a few weeks after the first multi-party elections in Croatia, in which Franjo Tuđman's HDZ party, which advocated for independence, won a majority. In such circumstances, about 3,000 fans of the Belgrade club Delije, led by Serbian criminal and nationalist Željko Ražnatović Arkan, arrived in Zagreb, so it didn't take long for hotheads to clash.

The first clashes were recorded on Ban Jelačić Square in the center of Zagreb, and soon spread in front of the stadium, culminating at Maksimir. A large number of people share the opinion that the entire incident was staged for the purpose of later political showdowns, as clubs, baseball bats, bottles, and stones were brought in front of the stadium in advance, and after the fight outside, the BBB (Bad Blue Boys) and Delije clashed on the poorly protected stands.

The police failed to prevent the demolition of the protective fence, the running towards each other, and the throwing of stones, which is why the incidents soon spread to the field. Red Star players retreated to the locker room, while Dinamo's players remained on the field. The captain of the Blues, Zvonimir Boban, protecting one of his club's fans, kicked policeman Ahmetović.

Let us remind you, the match was registered as 3-0 in favor of the red and whites, who had secured the title even before the tragic riots in which 193 people were injured, 117 of whom were police officers.

All of the above made this event, in the eyes of the world public, the most famous Yugoslav "match" ever...