Nikšić on the match in Mostar: Why I helped an injured Sarajevo fan

Regarding the reports about today's Velež-Sarajevo match, the Prime Minister of the Federation of BiH, Nermin Nikšić, spoke on his Facebook profile. The Patria News Agency publishes the statement in full.

Football is usually said to be the most important unimportant thing in the world. Very often, those of us who love sport are convinced of this.
I am a Velež fan, and in the past few days, like all sincere born fans, I have gone from immense sadness to joy. But wins and losses are an integral part of sport, and I would like us here to learn to support our club without hating the opponent and those who support a sports rival.

On Wednesday, I was sad because we lost, but even sadder because of the fan riots. Unfortunately, mutual fan insults are becoming a folklore we are getting used to. At the same time, we heard war-mongering songs that offend common sense, such as: “There is no more Velež, no Old Bridge, the Ustaše of our Herceg Bosna destroyed them” and the like.

Yet it could be said that at that match, the police and security agencies did their job well.
Today in Mostar, the “born” and the “pitari” socialised, sat together in cafes and enjoyed the Herzegovinian sun. Unfortunately, there are always those other “fans” who use matches as a training ground for their venting, which is why there are fewer and fewer real fans at matches. Although it is always easiest to blame the fans, it is evident that this is a problem for all of us in Bosnian society.
Today, like many of those present, I watched as the police had to use force to bring a group of Sarajevo fans under control.

What I saw later I considered unnecessary because in a situation where the fans were already in the stands and under control, they were sprayed with tear gas, which threatened to further escalate things. Many things happen here because most people in such situations usually keep a safe distance, thinking only “let it not come to me.” After all, it wasn't that long ago when Sarajevo fan Vedran Puljić was killed.

That is why I went to inquire what was going on. After talking to the police and the fans, I accompanied one of the fans, who was clearly most exposed to the tear gas, with visible blisters on his hands and face, and whom I know from national team matches as BH Fanatikos, from the stands to the locker rooms where the ambulance was.

I am writing this because some media are already trying to make a case out of this that does not exist. There was no conflict with the police on my part, nor would I allow myself that because people are doing their job, but I am sure that violence will never be stopped by violence. So, I was not helping any rioter whom I supposedly wanted to bring to the VIP stand, as the “objective media” report, but I helped an injured person get to the ambulance faster.