Brawl between football fans turns fatal

N1

Police arrested 19 people who were involved in a fight between football fans which resulted in the death of a 30-year-old man near the northeastern town of Bijeljina last night.

Police in Bijeljina said they are trying to clarify what happened, that the suspects are being questioned and that they are putting together a murder case.  

Police earlier confirmed that the man with the initials A.P. from Bijeljina was killed in the brawl, while another man, a 33-year-old with the initials B.K., was injured and sent to the local hospital.  

A.P. died as while he was being transported to Belgrade.  

The fight took place an hour after midnight on the parking lot of the ‘Sveti Stefan’ hotel in Dvorovi, just north of Bijeljina. The fight was planned and earlier agreed on between local supporters of two Serbian football clubs, Crvena Zvezda and Partizan.  

Local media reported that those involved used metal and wooden batons, and that the conflict erupted over a graffiti supporting one of the clubs.