Croatia could be in serious trouble after a swastika was marked into the turf before their game with Italy.
The Nazi symbol was spotted etched into the grass at the Stadion Poljud in Split, Croatia, before the match.
It’s believed Italy made a complaint after the fixture when the image was seen on TV coverage of the match held at the empty stadium.
The game was held behind closed doors after the Croatian FA were handed a sanction for racist chanting by Croatian fans against Norway in March.
After the incident they are likely to face even more serious sanctions.
Una svastica sul prato dello stadio Poljud…#CroaziaItalia pic.twitter.com/7FHoSTyG8D
— Massimiliano Nerozzi (@MaxNerozzi) June 12, 2015
When the problem was spotted officials tried to cover it up at half-time
E ora addetti al campo stanno cancellando la svastica…#CroaziaItalia pic.twitter.com/OAhoJz945X
— Massimiliano Nerozzi (@MaxNerozzi) June 12, 2015
The game ended 1-1.
Afterwards Italian football officials confirmed they would be lodging a complaint.
#Italy complain to #UEFA after a large Swastika was etched into the turf for #CroatiaItaly http://t.co/2v9HtRJsSC #CROITA
— Football Italia (@footballitalia) June 12, 2015
#Croatia FA President Davor Suker “angry” at a swastika on the pitch against #Italy http://t.co/S4pEYIIgOo #CROITA #CroatiaItaly #UEFA
— Football Italia (@footballitalia) June 12, 2015
