The hearing of football fans arrested on Sunday morning for singing Ustasha songs at a Croatia-Turkey EURO 2024 qualifying match started on Sunday afternoon, and the first two fans were sentenced to 30 days' imprisonment and banned from attending football matches for a year.

Twelve football fans were arrested in Osijek-Baranja and Vukovar-Srijem counties on Sunday over the incident at the Croatia-Turkey match played in the eastern city of Osijek on 12 October.

By Sunday evening, three of the fans were questioned and two were sentenced pending appeal to 30 days’ imprisonment and were banned from attending matches of the national football team for a year.

The hearings are expected to continue on Monday morning.

A criminal investigation over the singing of an inappropriate song during the match is continuing, police said on Sunday.

Media reported during the match that a group of Croatian fans were singing an Ustasha song.

On Saturday, UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings against the Croatian Football Federation (HNS).

“Following the report by the match delegate, UEFA has initiated disciplinary proceedings over the use of pyrotechnics by Croatian fans in the 62nd and 78th minutes of the match,” the HNS said on Saturday.

“Subsequently, after the FARE (Football Against Racism in Europe) report, disciplinary proceedings were initiated because of racism and discrimination. FARE did not have an observer at the match in Osijek, but received an external report on the incidents, which was supported by reports from the Croatian media about the singing of an Ustasha song and racist shouts by some of the Croatian fans,” the HNS said on its website.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic condemned the singing of Ustasha songs, saying on Saturday that people wishing evil to the national football team did that, while Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said no one could convince him that those singing Ustasha songs did not know they were causing damage to football, society and the state.