Ivan Bogdanov - the mastermind behind Italy-Serbia crowd trouble
The 10th match of the Euro 2012 qualifying Group C was set to be played on Tuesday, 12th of October. The teams were Italy and Serbia and the stage was Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa. Prior to the kick off however, fan trouble broke
out as the travelling Serbian Ultras ran havoc outside the stadium. If the rumours are to be believed, a group of Serbian Ultras took over the Serbian team bus and even injured the Serbian goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic with a flare.
Fans across the globe waited in anticipation as the kickoff was delayed, the match running the risk of being cancelled. UEFA authorities carried out an emergency meeting with the Italian authorities and the match was duly started after a prolonged delay.
With 100 riot police men standing in front of the travelling section, the match started. However, it did not take long for the troubles to mount again as the Italian goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano was attacked by the Serbs with their flares. The teams took to
their respective dressing rooms for cover as the match was halted once again. Following the incident, UEFA representatives and the referee had an ‘on pitch’ meeting with the Italian and the Serbian officials. Thankfully, the match was called off before any
tragic incident could register.
While the officials were busy deciding the fate of the match, Television cameras constantly zoomed in on a burly man wearing a mask. With pliers in his hands and tattoos all over his body, the man sat on the top of the fence giving a middle finger to the
police. The Albanian flag was burnt and the fence was cut as the riot police looked on helplessly. The message from the mystery man was clear, bring it on! The hooligans were smashing the reinforced barriers and smashing glass into smithereens in an attempt
to break out a fight with the Italian riot squad. The ultras were asking for a reason to start a fight and Italian security men decided against getting physical, a wise decision indeed.
As the referee announced his decision to call off the match, the home fans started to leave for their homes. However, the ultras stayed looking for trouble. As the Serbs were leaving the stadium, they were greeted by jeers and flying bottles from the frustrated
Italians waiting outside the stadium. Italian riot police desperately tried to disperse the crowd as the Serbs tried to fight back. Thankfully no sorry incident was reported and the day passed.
The following day, the Italian officials reported they had the masked Serbian ringleader under arrest. Apparently he was trying to escape back to his homeland in the boot of a bus. The leader is reported to be a 30 year old Belgrade native, Ivan Bogdanov.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the guy has a never ending criminal record prior to his antics in Marassi. Numerous charges have been filed against him in Serbia, notably for his attacks on police men, injuring football fans and selling of drugs.
Bogdanov is one of the leaders of an extremist Red Star Ultra group called ‘Ultra Boys’. Being part of one destructive force wasn’t enough for the hooligan as he also decided to be a part of an extremist movement called ‘Movement 1389’.
Bogdanov is officially unemployed and works sparingly as a security officer whenever required. The details of his employers were not made public. It is common belief that Bogdanov makes his living from his sale of drugs and other illegal activities.
The ringleader has been arrested at least five times in the past under various charges. Bogdanov took to the streets of Belgrade on multiple times often resulting in violent antics, following the proclamation of independence on Kosovo in 2004 and notably
when the war criminal Radovan Karadzic was arrested. The outlaw is also said to be responsible for the attacks on the US embassy that were carried out in the year 2000. His never ending list of crimes goes on as the ultra once injured a law enforcement official
and was initially sentenced to 10 years in prison. Bogdanov once also famously forced the players of Red Star Belgrade team wear a shirt of his liking. How a man of these astonishing crime ‘exploits’ can be left walking the streets is truly mindboggling.
On an ending note, the incident in Genoa was indeed a sad one and a huge setback to football. With already diminishing fan attendances and police men having sleepless nights in Italy, this latest incident was truly uncalled-for. Italian officials need to
take drastic measures to curb such disheartening incidents and the world football bodies must give their utmost support to the Italians in this regard. Italian football has a tremendous history and should the game loss its charm in the peninsula; it would
be a loss too great for the beautiful game to handle.
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