French court frees Croatia fans arrested for Nazi salutes

Seven people arrested by French police for making Nazi salutes at the Nations League match between France and Croatia were released on Monday.

A police source said around 10 Croatia supporters had made Nazi salutes at the Stade de France on Sunday, while their national anthem played before the match and several did so during the first half of a game France won 2-0.

But a court in Bobigny, just east of the Stade de France, ruled there was insufficient evidence.

"The videos do not appear to be conclusive and show more fan gestures of support than Nazi salutes," said the public prosecutor's office, which has jurisdiction over the Stade de France.

French police said earlier they had confiscated "iron bars, telescopic batons, sharp wooden sticks and smoke bombs" from some of the 400 Croatian fans who attended the game, a police source said.

"The security measures implemented by the police headquarters, under my authority, ensured the safety of fans and players and led to the arrest of seven individuals who made Nazi salutes during the match," Laurent Nunez, the Paris police chief, wrote on X on Monday.

"Sport is and must remain a celebration. These individuals have no place in a sports venue," he added.

Croatia's ultra-nationalist hardcore supporters have tainted the national team's image for years, notably by chanting pro-fascist slogans and displaying symbols of the country's pro-Nazi Ustasha regime that killed and persecuted hundreds of thousands of ethnic Serbs, Jews, Roma and anti-fascist Croatians.