Permit for public viewing of BiH matches in Brčko waited for a month, while for Serbia only 48 hours

The most passionate fans of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team had to wait almost a month before the police in Brčko approved public viewing of the match between Belgium and BiH at the beginning of September, as part of the qualifiers for the European Championship next year in France.

On the other hand, a group of fans who requested police approval to publicly follow the match of the Serbian national basketball team on Sunday against Spain - if Serbia defeats Lithuania tonight in the EuroBasket - received the permit just 48 hours after submitting the request.

One of the fans of the BiH national football team told the Patria news agency that such an attitude of the Brčko police towards fans of their own country's national team is devastating. He claims that the Brčko police deliberately issued the permit two days before the match, knowing that it is practically impossible to organize a gathering expected to draw around 6,000 people in such a short time.

One of the organizers of this gathering also confirmed to the local portal Infobrcko that they reported the public cheering for the Dragons to the police on time, and people from the organization even pointed out possible problems to ensure the gathering passed without the slightest incident. However, all that was not enough for the police to issue the necessary permit on time.

The animosity of the Serbian authorities in Brčko towards Bosniaks does not cease even 20 years after the end of the bloody conflicts, writes Patria.