The 1970–71

Yugoslav First League The Yugoslav First Federal Football League ( Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...

season was the 25th season of the First Federal League ( sh, Prva savezna liga), the top level

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

league of

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

, since its establishment in 1946. Eighteen teams contested the competition, which ended with

Hajduk Split Hrvatski nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split () or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, t ...

winning their fourth title, club's first in 16 years.

Events and incidents

Week 7: Hajduk v. OFK Beograd abandoned match and subsequent street riots in Split

The week 7

Hajduk A hajduk ( hu, hajdúk, plural of ) is a type of irregular infantry found in Central and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries. They have reputations ranging from bandits to freedom fighters depending on time, p ...

vs.

OFK Beograd OFK Beograd ( sr-Cyrl, ОФК Београд – Омладински фудбалски клуб Београд, English: ''Belgrade Youth Football Club'') is a Serbian professional football club based in Belgrade, more precisely in Karaburma, ...

league fixture at

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

's Stari plac Stadium on 23 September 1970 was stopped and ultimately abandoned over an incident caused by Hajduk's fans. With the score tied at 2-2 in the 52nd minute, match referee Pavle Ristić from

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...

fell unconscious after getting hit in the head with an object thrown from the stands. A few days later, the Yugoslav FA's (FSJ) disciplinary body made a ruling to register the contest by awarding a 0-3 win to the visiting OFK Beograd. The disciplinary measure set off huge, days-long, often violent protests in Split that quickly assumed a distinctly anti-

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

and

anti Anti may refer to: *Anti-, a prefix meaning "against" *Änti, or Antaeus, a half-giant in Greek and Berber mythology *A false reading of ''Nemty'', the name of the ferryman who carried Isis to Set's island in Egyptian mythology * Áńt’į, or ...

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

tone. Led by the club's hardcore fans

Torcida Torcidas organizadas () are formal (or informal) associations of football fans in Brazil in the same vein as '' barras bravas'' in the rest of Latin America, ''hooligan firms'' in United Kingdom and ''ultras'' in the rest of Europe, Asia, Aus ...

, the practice of seeking out parked cars with the city of Belgrade

license plates A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate (Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificat ...

and pushing them into the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

off the docks was especially widespread in Split during the protests. The press also reported about some of the gathered mob spontaneously launching into a cynical and sarcastic rendition of

Sergio Endrigo Sergio Endrigo (; 15 June 1933 – 7 September 2005) was an Italian singer-songwriter. Born in Pola, Istria in Italy (now Pula, Croatia), he has been often compared—for style and nature—to authors of the so-called "Genoa school" like Gino P ...

's then current and popular song "Kud plovi ovaj brod" ('Where is This Ship Going') as the cars with Belgrade plates were pushed into the sea and floated in the water before sinking. Due to the undertones of ethnic hatred and potential to undermine the country's official inter-ethnic guiding principle during the politically sensitive time when

MASPOK The Croatian Spring ( hr, Hrvatsko proljeće), or Maspok, was a political conflict that took place from 1967 to 1971 in the Socialist Republic of Croatia, at the time part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. As one of six republic ...

was gathering steam in

SR Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), or SR Croatia, was a constituent republic and federated state of the Social ...

, the Split football protests quickly came to the attention of Yugoslav politicians who decided to deal with the situation by pressing FSJ into changing its disciplinary ruling and registering the 2-2 score. FSJ did exactly that, reinstating the score at the moment when the match was abandoned as the official result.

League table

Results

Winning squad

HAJDUK SPLIT Hrvatski nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split () or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, t ...

(coach

Slavko Luštica Slavko Luštica (11 January 1923 – 14 July 1992) was a footballer who represented Yugoslavia at the 1952 Summer Olympics. He played club football in Yugoslavia with NK Osvit and Hajduk Split. Playing career Club Born in a small fishing commu ...

)

Top scorers

References

External links

Yugoslavia Domestic Football Full Tables
{{DEFAULTSORT:1970-71 Yugoslav First League Yugoslav First League seasons

Yugo The Yugo (), also marketed as the Zastava Koral (, sr-Cyrl, Застава Корал) and Yugo Koral, is a subcompact car, subcompact hatchback formerly manufactured by Zastava Automobiles, at the time a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav corporation. ...

1970–71 in Yugoslav football