Was it a provocation, or just a case of bad geography?
As everybody known, the World Cup in Russia is the focus of global attention. This month will be all about football, the games are watched by billions of fans all over the world, and the World Cup is the only subject of conversation for many.
To see tourists in jerseys of various national teams is a common sight these days, but something happened in Belgrade yesterday which surprised everyone involved.
A Japanese tourist was seen walking through the historic Kalemegdan fortress in Serbia’s capital wearing a jersey of the Croatian national football team. He was happy to pose for photos with passers-by, and initially he was not even aware of why people were so interested in him.
The photo of the encounter was posted on Twitter and it immediately became a hit on social networks and the media in Serbia, Croatia and the rest of the region, drawing hundred of comments from readers.
While some believe that the Japanese tourist mixed up things and mistakenly put on the Croatian jersey in the centre of Serbian capital, some wonder whether he is actually a Croatian football fan who came to Serbia intentionally to provoke supporters of the Serbian national team.
Unlike Croatia, which has secured its spot in the knock-out phase of the competition, Serbia recently lost a match against Switzerland and is in a difficult position ahead of the final match in the group phase. The shock of the defeat was even worst since the goals against Serbia were scored by Albanian members of the Swiss team, who used the opportunity to send political messages with regards to Kosovo, which most of the world considers to be an independent state, but Serbia claims it is its province.
