Amid the coronavirus pandemic, where maintaining social distance is a must, nearly 25,000 fans saw FK Partizan defeat local rivals Red Star Belgrade. Football in the country returned on May 29, but as most of the competitions,  three were no restrictions on crowd numbers. Serbia is one of the countries least affected by the virus, as in a population of close to 70 lakhs, over 12,000 positive cases have been reported from which 11,000 have already recovered. Celtic and RB Salzburg Show Liverpool and Other Football Teams How to Celebrate Title With Social Distancing.

In one of the biggest derbies of Serbian football, defending champions Partizan defeated Red Star 1-0 in the semi-finals of the domestic cup competition. Belgrade have already wrapped up the third consecutive league title but couldn’t get past their neighbours as Bibras Natcho’s goal proved to be the difference at the Partizan Stadium. Juventus Plan to Project Hologram of Cristiano Ronaldo and Team Onto Empty Stadium Once Serie A Returns.

Fans Before the Game

Fans Cheer On!

With this win, Partizan have moved a step closer to the trophy and will face Vojvodina in the final on June 24. Manager Savo Milosevic hailed the crowd for their support as he said ‘I thank the fans for their fantastic support and it was great to grind out this win in front of a full house.’ ‘Having that kind of support was absolutely imperative today. It was great to see a near-capacity crowd after such a long barren spell’ he added.

Capacity Crowd

While football in Serbia is returning to normal, top leagues in Europe are planning to play out the remainder of the sea on without any fans. The Bundesliga resumed last month but fans were not allowed inside the stadium and domestic leagues in England, Spain and Italy, who are all to resume by next week, will follow suit.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 11, 2020 04:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).