Serbian Red Star fan stabbed to death in Istanbul

A supporter of the Serbian basketball club Red Star was stabbed and killed on Nov. 21 in Istanbul in front of the venue where a Euroleague game between Galatasaray Liv Hospital and the visiting side was being played.

The Serbian club claimed in a written statement that the 25-year-old fan, identified only by the initials M.İ., was killed by Galatasaray hooligans, while the Istanbul police said the killing was the result of a fight between Red Star’s supporters.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic voiced "outrage over the monstruous murder," a government statement said. 

Serbia demands that the perpetrator be urgently "found, arrested and most severely punished," it added, Agence France-Presse reported.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called Vucic to voice condolences over the death.

The victim was immediately hospitalized after the incident and operated on for five hours, but could not be saved.

“There were incidents among Red Star fans, who did not have tickets to watch the Turkish Airlines Euroleague game between Galatasaray Liv Hospital and Red Star, and Galatasaray supporters before the game on Nov. 21,” Istanbul police said in a written statement.

“The two groups threw stones and bottles on each other but the police kept them apart. It was understood that one supporter was stabbed and killed while the Red Star fans were being escorted away from the venue. A probe has been launched into the incident,” the statement added.

“It was an act of hostility and a terrible tragedy ... I am distraught,” the Serbian consul in Istanbul, Zoran Markovic, told Serbian state television RTS, according to Reuters.

“We had been warning the Turkish authorities for...