Several Partizan players were involved in a street fight in Belgrade after allegedly defending themselves against racial insults and harassment. The club confirmed the incident and pledged cooperation with authorities while handling internal discipline.
In the early hours of Monday morning, an altercation involving several Partizan Mozzart Bet players broke out near a popular Belgrade nightclub, leaving one person seriously injured and two others with minor injuries.
The club has since confirmed that three of its players were caught in the incident and issued a statement condemning the circumstances leading to the violence.
According to Partizan's official release, the athletes were subjected to racial abuse by a group of men, while the women accompanying them were verbally harassed with degrading slurs simply for being in the company of men with darker skin tones.
The verbal incident escalated when the same group reportedly waited for the players outside the club and initiated a physical attack.
The Partizan players fought back in self-defense. The incident occurred following Partizan’s win over Mega in the ABA League derby on Sunday evening.
There is a video circulating on social media allegedly showing one of Partizan's players striking a man in the head with a bottle during the fight.
The altercation took place on Crnogorska Street around 4:00 a.m., and police were notified at 5:30 a.m. Emergency services responded to the scene, where three individuals – identified as MK, NJ, and JK – were injured, with JK sustaining serious injuries.
The players had already left the area by the time police arrived, but they are expected to give official statements in the coming days.
“Following a request from the relevant authorities, the players will appear and provide official statements in their capacity as citizens,” the club said, adding that all internal disciplinary matters will be handled in line with Partizan's internal rules.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs is actively investigating, and club president Ostoja Mijailović is expected to make a public statement on Tuesday.
The club emphasized that the players were responding to unprovoked racial and verbal abuse, and that their actions will be evaluated both by law enforcement and internally.
