Red Star director sparks outrage with message about Knin
Croatian media react strongly to Zvezdan Terzić's post calling for the 'Serbian tricolor to fly over Knin,' accompanied by a photo of a refugee column.
Croatian media react strongly to Zvezdan Terzić's post calling for the 'Serbian tricolor to fly over Knin,' accompanied by a photo of a refugee column.
Red Star Belgrade general director Zvezdan Terzić posted a message on August 5, 2026, marking the anniversary of the military-police operation 'Storm,' which drew sharp reactions in Croatian media. On social media, Terzić shared the verses "Let every man leave his son a legacy, the Serbian tricolor to fly over Knin," along with a photo of a column of refugees from the former Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK).
The message, which typically appears on the north stand of Red Star fans during anniversaries, was accompanied by data cited by Serbian tabloid Kurir about "more than 2,000 killed" and "around 250,000 Serbs expelled" during 'Storm.'
Reactions in Croatia were immediate and fierce. Numerous portals and newspapers described Terzić's post as shameful and scandalous, highlighting the provocative nature of the call to raise the Serbian flag in Knin. Headlines ranged from "Red Star president leaves shameful message" to "Scandal: 'Let every man leave his son a legacy, the Serbian tricolor to fly over Knin!'".
The post is placed in the context of the 31st anniversary of 'Storm,' and a day earlier, on August 4, 2026, Patriarch Porfirije held a memorial service in Sremski Karlovci to mark the anniversary, which was also covered by Serbian media.
Terzić's message and the reactions to it have once again opened the question of differing narratives about the wartime events of the 1990s, with such statements and interpretations being rejected in Croatia as revisionist and inappropriate.
