Fans of Serbia's Red Star Belgrade have parked a decommissioned tank in front of their stadium ahead of Tuesday night's Uefa Champions League qualifying play-off against Swiss team Young Boys – in a gesture one fan described as "entirely normal".
The Soviet-made T-55 is one of over a thousand that served for decades with the now-defunct Yugoslav People's Army, including during the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
The tank – welded shut, freshly painted in camouflage colours and adorned with the club's red and white emblem – was parked in front of the northern entrance of the Rajko Mitic Stadium on Monday.
"The Red Star machine is being prepared," the RSB fan website said ahead of the second-leg of the playoff, currently 2-2 on aggregate.
A club spokesman could not be reached for comment.
Red Star fans dismissed the idea that parking a tank in front of the stadium was provocative, and dozens of them posed in front of it for photos.
"This is not a provocation ... This is entirely normal ... The war ended 25 years ago," said Nenad, a fan from the northern town of Zrenjanin.
"This is the symbol ever since I've been a Red Star fan."
Stanisa Bosiokovic, another fan who had just bought his ticket for the match, suggested there was nothing threatening about the move. "This is more sport-related than anything else," he said.
Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said there was no problem, pointing out that there were no ordnance or explosive devices inside the machine.
"This is something that resembles a tank. It has tracks and a mock turret... The prosecution said there are no reasons for police action," he said.
