Tavares decided to celebrate the goal and Maribor's 2:1 win in front of the stands that contained Zrinjski fans. This turned out to be an unpleasant experience, according to the news portal Vijesti.ba.

As can be seen in a video released by the portal, Tavares ran towards the stands, drew a heart with his hands, and threw kisses towards the fans, who responded by imitating a monkey. Tavares alerted Zrinjski players to the racist outburst from the fans.

Zrinjski could receive a harsh penalty

The news portal stresses that the actions by the fans cast a shadow on Wednesday's match, the first leg in the second qualifying round for the Champions League. According to Vijesti.ba, Zrinjski could face a harsh penalty from UEFA, which is uncompromising when racism is involved. At roughly the same time when the verbal attack on Tavares took place, several unknown assailants attacked Bulgarian citizens in Zadar, Croatia. Among other things, they burned down a Bulgarian-registered BMW, according to Zadar police, who are treating the attack as a case of fan violence.

M. L.
Translated by J. B.