Ballistet (Albanian: Ballistët) are ultra supporters of the KF Shkëndija football club in Tetovo, North Macedonia. They were officially established as the main ultras group for Shkëndija in 1992.
| Ballistët | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | B92 |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Type | Supporters' group, Ultras group |
| Team | Shkëndija |
| Motto | Me ty Shkëndijë, edhe në botën tjetër |
| Headquarters | Tetovo, North Macedonia |
| Arenas | Ecolog Arena |
| Stand | North |
| Coordinates | 42°00′N 20°58′E / 42.000°N 20.967°E |
| Colors | Red and Black |
History edit
The supporters of KF Shkëndija are called the Ballistët, named after the nationalistic movement World War II Balli Kombëtar. When the club was formed in 1979, use of nationalism was strictly prohibited by the Yugoslavian government. The supporting firm of Shkëndija called themselves BAL, using the first three letters of Balli Kombëtar. When Shkëndija was reinstated into the Macedonian Football League, the supporting firm was re-established as the Ballistët in 1992. Group is also known for their extreme nationalistic, time to time separatiatic rhetoric, expressing pride for their Albanian heritage and also intolerance for other ethnic groups in North Macedonia.
2010s edit
Fans of opposing clubs barely go to Ecolog Arena as the "Ballistet" are one of the largest firms in North Macedonia.[1] This was noted when FK Rabotnički played Shkëndija in 2008. Rabotnički had the lead over Shkëndija in Tetovo with the score 0:1. A loss would have meant relegation into the second division.[2] At half time, Rabotnički's players and coaches were attacked when they were leaving the pitch. Rabotnički supporters and police could not stop the large presence of Shkëndija supporters, resulting in the match to be abandoned and Shkëndija being relegated to the second league.[2]
On 11 September 2011, the Shkendija supporters attacked fans and players of FK Ohrid at half time. This resulted in Shkendija supporters being suspended for two home matches.[3]
After Partizan Belgrade defeated Shkëndija in Skopje for the qualifying rounds of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League, Partizan coach Aleksandar Stanojevic stated that Shkëndija out played Partizan in the first half due to the great atmosphere of the Shkëndija supporters intimidating the Partizan players.[4] In the match, the Albanian flag covered the entire west end of the stadium, along with banners such as "Ballistet", "1st state Albania, 2nd state Kosova, 3rd state coming soon" and "24 March 1999".[5] The Ballistet chanted notable remarks such as, "Ubi ubi srbina" (Kill the Serbs) ,[6] Adem Jashari, UÇK, Republic of Kosovo and singing Albanian nationalist songs.[5]
On 10 March 2012, two Shkëndija supporters were arrested after a policeman was stabbed while apparently protecting two men from a mob attack.[7][8] The cause of this was retaliation for the killing of two ethnic Albanians by an off-duty police officer in the town of Gostivar.[9] After the arrests, hardcore Shkendija fans, the Ballistët, threatened to cause trouble in a match against league leaders Vardar Skopje originally scheduled for Wednesday, which had been suspended[7] and played on another date with no fans being allowed to attend.
On 23 May 2013, the Macedonian Cup final was abandoned late on Wednesday between Shkëndija and Teteks.[10] The match was abandoned after 20 minutes for fear that the chants might ignite violence. The Shkëndija supporters booed the Macedonian national anthem,[11] threw flares at the police and security[12] as well as chanting "Ballisti Zakon", "UÇK" and other nationalistic rhetoric.[10] Also and Macedonian fans of Teteks did the same against Albanians. The match between Teteks and Shkëndija was rescheduled for Sunday and the Macedonian Football Federation said it would be played in an empty stadium to avoid provocation.[10]
After Shkëndija's 5–0 victory over Teteks, Shkëlzen Meta, the leading captain of the Ballistët, handed over the reins to the young Isak Luma.[13]
On 19 October 2014, during the rivalry match against FK Vardar, The Ballistët held a large banner stating "They are cancer of Europe – UEFA do you need more?!" accompanied with a montage of pictures showing Serb hooligans involved in the Serbia vs England U-21 match, Italy vs Serbia match and the Serbia vs Albania match.[14][15][16]
On 7 April 2015, Shkëndija were fined by the FFM and supporters banned due to politically motivated banners and chants, as well as the assault on FK Tetek's manager Gorazd Mihajlov.[17]
On the morning of the 21 February 2016, two buses of Buducnost Podgorica supporters, Varvari Podgorica, travelled to Skopje to attend a match. On the road to Skopje, Shkendija supporters, Ballistët, came across the supporters while heading towards the match between Shkendija and Turnovo on the bridge.[18][19] The slavic medias claim that Ballistët initiated the clash between the 2 groups, but in reality it was the Buducnost supporters attacking one bus of the Shkëndijas supporters convoy(around 10 buses in total). The other buses were a little left behind, when they arrived the clash had already started. When the Ballistët almost outnumbered the montenegrins and after the montenegrins getting beaten up, they started boarding their buses. The built adrenaline and the need of a hospital made the montenegrin drivers rage and speed up on the mountainy roads, nearly running over the opposite fans. After the clash Shkëndija's convoy continued the road without any consequences. Shkëndija won the match that day, with Marjan Radeski's only 2 goals of the match.[20][21][22]
Notable fans edit
Shkëndija's main supporters are Albanians from Tetovo and Albanian diaspora. Some notable fans include politicians Shpend Ahmeti and Albin Kurti, actors Xhevdet Jashari and Blerim Destani, singers Shkumbin Ismaili and Arif Ziberi of Elita 5 and athletes, Blerim Dzemaili, Platon Etemi, Erjon Havziu,Lon Demiri and Admir Mehmedi.
References edit
- ^ "Macedonian Football |". Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ a b MINA. "Shkëndija Rabotnički match suspended". Retrieved 24 June 2011.
- ^ Darko Jankulovski. "Ohrid: There are no conditions for football in Tetovo". Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ^ Beta. "Stanojevic: The errors in Skopje can Partizan in Champions League". Retrieved 2011-07-21.
- ^ a b Ž. Babovic / D. Nikolić. "Black and white did not dwell on the provocation "balista" in Skopje". Retrieved 2011-07-21.
- ^ "Footage of Shkendija supporters". YouTube. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- ^ a b worldsoccer (15 March 2012). "Macedonia league suspended". Retrieved 2012-03-17.
- ^ eurosport.yahoo. "REFILE-Soccer-Macedonian leagues suspended due to ethnic violence". Retrieved 2012-03-17. [dead link]
- ^ BBC (2012-03-13). "EU warns Macedonia over ethnic violence". BBC News. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
- ^ a b c Casule, Kole (23 May 2013). "Soccer-Macedonia cup final abandoned after crowd trouble". Reuters. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
- ^ Jankulovski, Darko (23 May 2013). "Cup final interrupted". macedonianfootball.com. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
- ^ REAGOJN GJORGJI IVANOV, GORDANA JANKULLOVSKA DHE MENDUH THAÇI PAS NDËRPRERJES SË FINALES SË KUPËS (in Albanian). Koha. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
- ^ "Isak Luma do të udhëheq me BALLISTËT". Almakos.com. 2 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
- ^ Shkëndija – Vardar 1–2 (19.10.2014) (in Albanian). Tetovo, Macedonia: KF Shkendija. 2014.
- ^ "Torcedores albaneses protestam contra a Uefa após briga com Sérvia". Globo Esporte. 2014-10-19. Retrieved 2014-10-21.
- ^ Verrecchia, Adrien (2014-10-21). "Top 10 : Les tifos du week-end". La Grinta. Retrieved 2014-10-22.
- ^ "FFM gjobit me 3 000 euro Shkëndijën, Luma pezullohet 1 vit". kfshkendija.com. KF Shkendija. Archived from the original on 2016-01-17. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
- ^ "IOTS: Fans from Montenegro attacked on their way to Macedonia!". Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 23 Feb 2015.
- ^ Rrahja mes Ballisteve dhe Varvareve – shkurt 2016 on YouTube
- ^ Sukob Varvara i Albanaca(Ballisti) – Conflict between Varvari(Montenegro) and Ballisti(Albanians) on YouTube
- ^ Varvari vs Ballistet (21.02.2016) fight on YouTube
- ^ "IFOTO i VIDEO: Varvari napadnuti u Makedoniji, dvojica u Urgentnom centru". Retrieved 23 Feb 2015.