Josip Šimunić: On the Record

This page records specific public conduct. It does not claim knowledge of private beliefs or motives.

Documented record

• November 19, 2013: On November 19, 2013, after Croatia's 2-0 World Cup playoff win over Iceland, Croatian defender Josip Šimunić grabbed a stadium microphone and led the crowd in the WWII Ustaše fascist-regime chant "u boj" / "za dom" (crowd response: "spremni"), for which FIFA banned him 10 matches (barring him from the 2014 World Cup) — a sanction the Court of Arbitration for Sport unanimously upheld on May 12, 2014, ruling it "a clear and unequivocal reference to the call used by the Ustaše." u boj" / "za dom" — crowd response: "spremni Source 1 Source 2

Context and response

Šimunić has consistently denied antisemitic or fascist intent, framing the chant as Croatian patriotism: "Those who are bothered by those shouts should study history. If it bothers someone, then it's their problem." In 2019 he stated, "I was not glorifying fascism, Nazism, or any other kind of totalitarianism. I was glorifying Croatia," while acknowledging "today I would chant 'Croatia, Croatia'" instead. He unsuccessfully appealed the ban to both FIFA and CAS.

Where Galil stands

Our opinion: We don't platform a chant that FIFA's own tribunal and the Court of Arbitration for Sport both found to be a direct invocation of the Ustaše, the WWII regime that murdered Jews, Serbs, and Roma — patriotic framing or not.

---

Sources manually reviewed 2026-07-27. Corrections and later context will be appended to this page.