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Croatian leaders on Friday slammed pro-Nazi and anti-Semitic chants by Hajduk Split football fans ahead of their UEFA Conference League match against Ajax, while Israel\u2019s embassy voiced shock.<\/strong><\/p>\n Groups of Hajduk Split fans, known as the Torcida, marched through the coastal town ahead of Thursday\u2019s match chanting: \u201cCrush the Jews\u201d, \u201cRise up Adolf (Hitler)\u201d and \u201cLet\u2019s go Ustasha\u201d, referring to the country\u2019s World War II pro-Nazi regime, local media reported.<\/p>\n Dozens of fans were detained ahead of Thursday\u2019s match for violence. During the match Torcida fans set off flares and other pyrotechnics in the stands, forcing more than a 10-minute stoppage.<\/p>\n An investigation was opened into the pro-Nazi chants and suspects are being detained, police said.<\/p>\n President Zoran Milanovic on Friday in a statement condemned the incident as \u201cunacceptable and shameful\u201d.<\/p>\n He urged swift action against the perpetrators to \u201cshow that there is no place in Croatia for the glorification of Nazism and Ustasha ideology\u201d.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s embassy in Zagreb, in a statement obtained by AFP, said it was \u201cdeeply shocked by the serious anti-Semitic incident that took place in Split\u201d.<\/p>\n Conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic also condemned \u201cmessages of anti-Semitism \u2026 completely at odds with the values we want to uphold in Croatian society\u201d.<\/p>\n Hajduk Split, who won the game 2-1, in a statement apologised to UEFA and Ajax who \u201cwitnessed scenes which we do not want Europe to remember\u201d, while the Croatian football federation also condemned the incident.<\/p>\n Croatia\u2019s ultra-nationalist hardcore supporters have tainted the country\u2019s image for years, notably by chanting pro-fascist slogans and displaying Ustasha symbols.<\/p>\n The regime killed and persecuted hundreds of thousands of ethnic Serbs, Jews, Roma and anti-fascist Croatians.<\/p>\n Croatia were docked a point by UEFA after their fans painted a swastika on the pitch in Split in 2015, ahead of a Euro 2016 qualifier with Italy.<\/p>\n The perpetrators were never found.<\/p>\n In recent years, the country has seen a growing tolerance for its pro-Nazi past and critics accuse authorities of failing to sanction the use of Ustasha emblems.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n