sport news Soccer fan accused of making Nazi salute at game says he had so many beers he ... trends now
A man dressed in army camouflage told police he 'couldn't remember' whether he performed a gesture that police say was a Nazi salute at a highly charged football grand final because he had so much to drink, a court has been told.
Nikola Marko Gasparovic, Dominik Sieben and Marijan Lisica separately attended the highly charged Australia Cup final between Sydney United 58 and Macarthur on October 1, 2022.
The men are all of Croatian background and are keen supporters of Sydney United.
All three men were captured separately performing an alleged 'Hitler salute' on CCTV and on a broadcast of the game by Channel 10.
The men are fighting one charge each of knowingly displaying by public act a Nazi symbol without a reasonable excuse at a hearing before magistrate Joy Boulos that entered its second day on Tuesday.
Marijan Lisica (pictured) has fronted court accused of performing a Nazi salute at the Australia Cup final in Sydney in October 2022
The 45-year-old (pictured outside court) was caught allegedly carrying out the disgraceful act on footage taken by Channel 10
Parramatta Local Court was played body-worn footage of an interview with Mr Lisica months after the alleged incident.
The 45-year-old told Detective Sergeant Aaron Turner that he dressed in army camouflage and wore rosary beads at the game in 'honour of the people who died in the homeland in the war in the 1990s'.
The court was told Mr Lisica had also brought a large homemade banner that read 'Za Dom', which translates to 'for homeland'.
When asked whether he did a 'Nazi salute' at the game, Mr Lisica said he 'couldn't even remember' after consuming 10 beers before and during the game.
'I had a few drinks ... I was at the top of the stadium sitting with my massive flag,' he said in the footage.
He told Sergeant Turner that he sat at the top of the stadium for '30-40 minutes' looking into the crowd and became 'emotional'.
'All of a sudden they're calling us fascists ... hands were going up everywhere and they're labelling us,' he said.
When asked what his thought process would be if he was found to have done a Nazi salute, Mr Lisica said 'people interpret things their way'.
But he claims it was an appreciation for his Croatian people that 'goes back centuries'.
'I don't understand why everyone always says if we put our hand up it's a Nazi salute,' he said.
Dominik Sieben (pictured outside court) told police he was just having a beer and trying to cheer on his team when he allegedly performed the salute
