Sarajevo police arrested four persons on Saturday evening following an incident in the Ilidza neighbourhood, when a group of hooligans physically attacked parents of participants of a junior football tournament, who are Serbian nationals.

A representative of Belgrade football club ‘Zvezdara’, who unveiled only his name initials – M.M., told N1 that there were actually two separate incidents – one taking place during a game, when a group of participants from Split, Croatia, were shouting ‘Kill, kill the Serb’, and another one which resulted in physical injuries of a parent of the tournament participant from Belgrade.

According to N1's source, the physical incident, where one person was stabbed in his leg, happened after a group of hooligans tried to steal their team's flag.

“We carry our flag to every game. It has ‘Zvezdara’ written and a flower painted on it. No other insignia, no provocative elements. Although I cannot understand how could a flag be provocative,” he said.

“They tried to take our flag. They did not succeed, they provoked the parents to go outside and then masked persons carrying torches and knives started coming out. They wore signs of FC Sarajevo. This cannot be a coincidence,” he stressed.

N1's collocutor also criticised the organiser, calling the whole event a “sort of a cheap marketing.” He stressed that what happened might have been revenge, because no team from Sarajevo took part in the event, but he did not speculate further.

Also, he pointed out a security issue.

“Can you imagine that there is no police presence in the hotel with so many people, there were 400 teams in there,” he stressed.

Despite the incidents, the representative of the Belgrade team said they will not leave and will stay in the event.

He thanked for the support they all have received.

“People from Sarajevo, Novi Pazar, and other parts of Bosnia and Serbia called us. We will play the game tomorrow, I am inviting you to be our guests, we're not here to wage wars, we need to shut the mouths of those hooligans together,” he stressed.

The organiser has not made any public statements on what happened.

Sarajevo mayoress Benjamina Karic visited the guests, condemning the incident.

“I condemn the violence and I am sure that the perpetrators will be held accountable for what was done. Sarajevo is an open city. Always against injustice and violence, no matter where it comes from. A protector of human, life and freedom. And tonight as well we are raising our voice against violence in defence of human and human values,” she said.

Other officials, including Sarajevo Canton prime minister Edino Forto as well as Milorad Dodik condemned the incident as well.

Dodik expressed regret that such incidents take place at all, let alone during a junior tournament.

He urged the competent authorities to find and punish the perpetrators.