Zagreb's Večernji list rejected the attempt of the coach of the Croatian football team, Igor Štimac, to blame the media for the allegedly wrong interpretation of his statement that generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markač should take the kick-off in the match against Serbia in the spring in Zagreb.
"In general euphoria, the coach ran into the TV cameras, after arriving in Pakoštane (the birthplace of General Gotovina), he declared: "I will invite the generals to take the kick-off in our next qualifying match," Večernji list said in a comment.
Dnevnik stated that the journalists are not to blame for the "case of generals" Igor Štimac and that the selector cannot look for an excuse, but that it is "exclusively about the euphoria and long language of a person who has been in the opposition for years and is used to being allowed to say anything".
"Those journalists did not invent or repackage his call to the generals, nor did they force reactions to him. They came by themselves," wrote a Vecernji List commentator.
After negative reactions to his statement that he would invite the generals acquitted before the Hague war crimes tribunal to launch the opening strike in the match with Serbia, Štimac announced that his words were "taken out of context" and that it was "irresponsible sensationalism" that could harm Croatian society.
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