Serbian nationalist slogans like, "Zagreb is Serbian" and, "We'll kill Tuđman". Revolted by what they saw, the Bad Blue Boys at the north and east stands attempted to storm the pitch, but were quickly pushed back by the police wielding batons and tear gas. Within minutes the situation got out of hand as the Bad Blue Boys could no longer be held back. They breached the fence and took to the pitch to charge at their Serbian counterparts. The police were quickly overwhelmed but came back with reinforcements, using armored vans and water cannons to disperse the rioters. More than an hour later, after the stadium was set on fire, the riot was brought under control. The police were later deemed to have been too lenient with Delije during their early sporadic outbursts, which sparked the larger riot. Zvonimir Boban's kick Amidst the chaos several Dinamo players still remained on the pitch, the Red Star players having already left for the locker rooms. Zvonimir Boban, the Dinamo captain, kicked a police officer, Refik Ahmetović, who was allegedly mistreating a Dinamo supporter. The Bad Blue Boys came to Boban's defence, acting as human shield. The event would later come to symbolize in the minds of Croat nationalists the beginning of Croatian resistance against Serbia. Boban was proclaimed a national hero of Croatia, but also attained a Croat nationalist reputation in Serbia. He was suspended by the Football Association of Yugoslavia (FSJ) for six months, missing the 1990 FIFA World Cup, and had criminal charges filed against him. The officer he had attacked (who turned out to be Bosniak) publicly forgave Boban for his actions several years later. Aftermath The riot marked the beginning of the end for the Yugoslav First League. By the end of the following 1990–91 season, Slovenia and Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia. With that, both new countries formed their own football league systems (Croatian football league system and Slovenian football league system), withdrawing from the Yugoslav system. The Yugoslav First League lasted for one more season after that, but by the end of 1991–92 season the ongoing breakup of Yugoslavia was well underway. Impact The Dinamo-Red Star riot is widely believed by some to have sparked the ensuing Croatian War of Independence. This narrative has been popularized through documentaries and journalistic pieces. However, recent examinations show that this myth reflected the subsequent events to come rather than