Ahead of the match: Mass brawl between Serbs and Croats in Malta

About fifteen fans of the Croatian national football team clashed with security guards from Serbia in the White Palace nightclub in the center of Paceville in Malta, reports the Patria News Agency.

According to Beta agency, after a quick intervention by the Maltese police, several people were arrested, and surrounding establishments were also closed. Several people were slightly injured in the brawl.

Material damage was caused in front of the establishment itself, as tables and chairs from the nightclub's garden were used in the incident. In a parallel street, not far from the scene of the incident, sat members of the delegation of the Croatian national football team, which is playing against Malta in the qualifiers for the European Championship in France in 2016.

The Croatian Football Federation (HNS) made a decision in August not to organize fan travel to away games due to a suspension from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) after the appearance of a swastika on the pitch of the Poljud stadium during a qualifying match against Italy.

HNS stated at the time that Croatia was very close to being expelled from the qualifiers and that it had received a "yellow card" from European football's governing body.

UEFA fined HNS one match played behind closed doors, deducted one point in qualifying Group H for the continental championship, and imposed a 100,000 euro penalty due to the display of the swastika.

In the past, HNS has been fined many times by UEFA for fan misconduct, including the display of fascist and racist slogans, as well as for pyrotechnics, which briefly interrupted the match in Milan against Italy.

The match of the 10th round of Group H of the European Championship qualifiers between Malta and Croatia will be played tonight at 8:45 PM.