NK Imotski is a Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

n football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 club based in the town of Imotski

Imotski

Imotski , is a small town situated on the northern side of Biokovo massif, Dalmatian hinterland, Croatia. The town was first mentioned as Imotski for the first time in the 10th century and it was held by the Turks from the fall of Bosnia until 1717 when it was captured by the Venetians. The town...

, in the region of Dalmatia

Dalmatia

Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....

. They play in Druga HNL, Croatia's second level.

Current squad

Nationalist symbols controversy

In October 2007, the Croatian newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija

Slobodna Dalmacija

Slobodna Dalmacija is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Split.The first issue of Slobodna Dalmacija was published on June 17, 1943 by Tito's Partisans in a cave on Mosor, a mountain near Split, which was occupied by the Italian army during that time. The paper was later published in various...

 reported that NK Imotski's club dress had Ustaša-related symbols (The letter U and the Independent State of Croatia

Independent State of Croatia

The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...

-resembling coat of arms

Coat of arms of Croatia

The coat of arms of Croatia consists of one main shield and five smaller shields which form a crown over the main shield. The main coat of arms is a checkerboard that consists of 13 red and 12 silver fields. It's commonly known as šahovnica or grb...

 inside the letter. That was, in fact, the logo of the club's leading sponsor, the edile company "gUj" (meaning "Gojko Und Jure"). Some historians and critics claim the symbols display is an open praising of the Ustaše, a World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

-era Nazi regime in Croatia.

The club's president Nediljko Tolo said that "as long as the sponsor finances our club, we will carry those symbols on our dresses".

According to the club's web site, the shirt with the logo have become a "hit" among the fans and have been widely accepted.

In early November 2007 Croatian Second League Association announced that NK Imotski violated FIFA

FIFA

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

, Croatian Football Federation

Croatian Football Federation

The Croatian Football Federation is the governing body of association football in Croatia. It was originally formed in 1912 and is based in the capital city of Zagreb. The organisation is a member of both FIFA and UEFA, and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the game of football in Croatia...

 rules and laws of Republic of Croatia. NK Imotski had to quit a sponsorship deal with "Gojko und Jure" until the company changes its logo. NK Imotski had to find new club dresses for the players and remove all "Gojko und Jure" advertisements around the stadium.

External links

• Official website
• NK Imotski at Nogometni magazin
  Nogometni Magazin
  Nogometni Magazin is a news organization that focusses on Croatian football news. It was launched in March of 2002. The site's editor-in-chief is Vladimir Benić and it is based out of Zagreb....