Velež fans' banners set on fire, referee interrupts Zrinjski and Rođeni match

The city derby between Zrinjski and Velež is being played at the Pod Bijelim Brijegom stadium in Mostar from 4 PM.

Before the match started, a confusing situation arose when the announcer stated 45 minutes prior that everyone present had to leave the stadium for a police inspection.

The decision was made because a portion of the fans had previously entered the stadium without being searched. It seemed the match would be delayed, but it started as planned at 4 PM.

At the very start of the match, thick smoke covered the stadium, and referee Jelić briefly interrupted the game due to the home fans' pyrotechnics.

In addition, they used this duel to take revenge on Velež fans and set fire to previously confiscated banners, reportedly around 50 of them.

As a reminder, Velež fans had previously confiscated Zrinjski fans' main banner in an operation.

A total of nine banners belonging to the Ultras were confiscated at that time, and all of them were burned during the last match hosted by Velež.

We remind you that Velež's away fans were banned from attending the match.

"In order to preserve public order and peace and ensure the safety of all participants, the Mostar Police Department has decided to ban away fans from attending the upcoming match between HŠK Zrinjski and FK Velež, which will be held on March 1, 2025, starting at 4:00 PM, at the stadium under Bijeli Brijeg in Mostar," announced the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton.

The derby was preceded by an unfortunate incident in which a person in Mostar sustained life-threatening injuries when a group of unknown individuals beat him. The attacked young man refused to cooperate with the police.