In 2008 Turkey and Croatia played one of the most thrilling finishes to a football game I've ever seen. Minutes before the end of extra time Croatia scored to look as if they would go through to the semi-final. With the very last kick of the game the Turks equalised and went on to win the penalty shoot out, putting the Croats out of the Euro 2008 tournament.
Bosnia is neither Turkey nor Croatia. But the Bosnian Croats support Croatia with some passion. Most of Bosnian Muslims support Bosnia, but as a second choice team some choose to support Turkey, reflecting their Ottoman history.
The Bosnian town of Mostar suffered heavily during the Bosnian conflict of the 1990s, with particularly fierce fighting between the Bosnian Croats and the Bosnian Muslims. Some 16 years after the Dayton Peace Accords were signed, the antipathy between the two groups in Mostar is still evident.
The Turkey Croatia game reflected these tensions. With such a close game, so much to play for and such unexpected last minute drama, feelings were running high. The Bosnian Croats were vocal in their support of Croatia, the Bosnian Muslims on the other side of town were passionately supporting Turkey. When the game had finished and Croatia had been eliminated, riots began across the city.
By the end of the night over 20 people had been hospitalised and damage to property throughout the city centre was evident. Some 16 people were arrested. The police were not unaware of the likelihood of violence, earlier Croatian games had also led to football related violence in the city centre and a Croatia Brazil game in the 2006 World Cup had also lead to major clashes after the Bosnian Muslims supported Brazil.
When Turkey played Croatia on Friday night, there was concern that the events of 2008 could be repeated. However, with Bosnia in action against Portugal, there was less of a sense of fans supporting Turkey, less of a sense of bitter rivals facing each other.
The antipathy between groups is not the same across the country. In Jajce for example, also an area of intense fighting during the conflict, people were reporting that Bosnian and Croatian fans, fully decked out in their respective regalia, stopped to congratulate each other about their sides performances at half time. But in Mostar there was once again violence. Not on the same scale, but 150 supporters were involved in incidents that included stone throwing.
Football, it appears, offers an opportunity for some to manufacture a situation at which historic antipathies can be replayed, to the detrimental effect of those trying to create a stable peaceful environment.
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