As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 21st of October, 2020, this past weekend, Civil Protection inspectors fined five Croatian clubs in the City of Zagreb in the total amount of 150,000 kuna.

One such club was fined 30,000 kuna for exceeding working hours, and the other four were fined the same penalty for having a crowded dance floor, non-compliance with maintaining social distancing between guests and a lack of information at the entrance about the number of guests permitted within the club, Jutarnji list writes.

The possibility of punishing legal entities was announced last Monday by the director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, Krunoslav Capak. The inspection can impose a fine of 20 to as much as 70 thousand kuna on each legal entity, ie the owner of the premises who fails to comply with the current epidemiological measures and instructions.

As of it now seems, inspectors only fine more serious offenses such as exceeding working hours until midnight, not maintaining social distancing and so-called "irresponsible" dancing. In addition, the total number of guests in the premises must be displayed at the entrance, and is determined by the criterion of four square metres per person.

Mladen Vlaic, head of the Sector for Administrative and Inspection Affairs of PUZ, says that all of the fines written this weekend for the five Croatian clubs punished were in the lowest possible amount.

"The minimum fine under the Civil Protection System Act is 20,000 kuna for a legal entity, and 10,000 kuna for a responsible person in a legal entity. The owners of the Croatian clubs who received a misdemeanor warrant have the opportunity to appeal, and then the court decides on that,'' explained Vlaic, adding that all of the inspected clubs this weekend respected the appointment and arrival of the ''covid guards''.

Last week, more than 2,300 inspections of restaurants, nightclubs, weddings and events were carried out across Croatia, and 259 verbal warnings were issued. The most relaxed were in Split and Osijek. In Osijek, an irregularity was found during every fifth inspection, and in Split during every third. But no fines were written.

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October 2, 2020 - Dinamo and Rijeka advance to the Europa League group stage after defeating Flora and Copenhagen on Thursday evening in the final qualifying round.

Dinamo Zagreb secured a spot in the Europa League after beating Estonian club Flora 3:1 in the final qualifying round at Maksimir Stadium. Ademi scored twice for Dinamo in the 26th and 87th minutes, and the first goal of the match was scored by Gavranovic in the 11th. Sinavskij scored for Flora in the 65th. 

After losing to Ferencvaros without a chance to qualify for the Champions League, Dinamo will play in the Europa League this season for consolation.

Unlike the last qualifying round of the Champions League, in which two matches were played, only one match was played in the final round of the Europa League qualifiers.

Dinamo's last hurdle to qualify for the group stage was the Estonian champion, Flora. The difference in quality was obvious and Dinamo came away with the win. However, harder than expected.

90'+3 KRAJ!!! Dinamo - Flora 3:1 (Gavranović, Ademi 2x) ?????????????? Imamo europsku jesen u @EuropaLeague ! ????⚽️ #uel #dinamozagreb pic.twitter.com/dOtJoPHHUh

— GNK Dinamo (@gnkdinamo) October 1, 2020

In the second match on Thursday, Rijeka also secured a spot in the Europa League group stage thanks to a 1:0 (1-0) away win against Copenhagen, Denmark in the last qualifying round.

Rijeka reached the victory thanks to an own goal by Ankersen in the 20th minute.

Rijeka managed to withstand the pressure of the home side in the first 15 minutes, and then from the first offensive action to gain the advantage, which they kept until the end.

Although the match was mostly played in Rijeka's half, Copenhagen did not manage to create any dangerous scoring opportunities to thus give Rijeka the victory.

? Navijanje u svlačionici poveo je Damir Mišković, predsjednik HNK Rijeka, jedan od najzaslužnijih ljudi za uspjehe riječkog prvoligaša ?⚪#ZajednosmoRijeka #UEL #Krepatmanemolat pic.twitter.com/5HQHUwtYla

— NK Rijeka (@NKRijeka) October 1, 2020

The Europa League group draw will be held in Nyon at noon on Friday. 

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July 27, 2020 - For the third time in history, Croatia will have two clubs in the Champions League qualifiers.

HRT reports that in the two attempts so far, Croatian clubs have not managed to win group competitions, and it will not be easy for Dinamo and Lokomotiva this season either.

Croatia had two clubs in the qualifications of the elite competition for the first time in the 1999/2000 season when the Croatian colors were defended by Dinamo, i.e., the then Croatia, and Rijeka. The Zagreb team was successful, while Rijeka was not.

The Blues had only one obstacle; in the third qualifying round, they knocked out the Hungarian club MTK and qualified for the group stage. After the 0:0 result in Zagreb, the team led by Osvaldo Ardiles won 2:0 in Budapest, and the hero of the match was the double scorer Josip Simic (58, 86).

Dinamo played in the group stage with Manchester United, Marseille and Sturm that season. Although they were the last in the group, the legendary “zero” at Old Trafford is still remembered.

Rijeka started the qualifications in the 2nd qualifying round, where they lost to Partizan. The Belgrade team celebrated 3:1 in front of their spectators, and in the return match at Kantrida with 3:0.

The following season, in the summer of 2000, Croatia also had two representatives in the Champions League qualifiers. They were Dinamo and Hajduk, and both clubs were eliminated.

Dinamo started as champions in the third qualifying round, but was knocked out by Milan. The Blues took the lead at San Siro in the first match with a goal by Renato Pilipovic in the 19th minute, but the Rossoneri turned the score around with three goals (Sevcenko 23, 42, Comandini 60).

Milan was convincing in the return match and celebrated 3:0 at Maksimir with goals by Shevchenko (23, 42) and Jose Maria (55).

Runner-up Hajduk started in the second qualifying round and was immediately shocked by Hungarian club Dunaffer (0:2, 2:2). The Hungarians won the first match at Poljud 2:0 (Tokoli 57, Eger 90), while the second match ended 2:2. In the return match, Hajduk led thanks to two goals by Mate Bilic (9, 28), but Dunaffer returned both times (Zavadszky 20, Tokoli 87).

Dinamo and Lokomotiva will fight in the third attempt for Croatian clubs in the elite competition. 

Dinamo will start the hunt for the Champions League from the second or third qualifying round.

If in the Champions League round of 16, Lyon is eliminated by Juventus on August 7, and Napoli a day later by Barcelona, ​​Dinamo will start their European journey in the third qualifying round. However, if at least one of the two clubs qualifies for the Final Eight, Dinamo will have to play the 2nd qualifying round.

The Blues will be the winners in both the second and third rounds, and perhaps in the final “play-off round”. Relegation in the Champions League play-offs brings a direct placement in the Europa League groups.

Lokomotiva starts from the 2nd round of qualifications, and it is inevitable that they will not be the top seed in the draw.

The name of their opponent will be known on August 10, and one game will be played, which is scheduled for August 25 or 26.

Relegation to the 2nd qualifying round of the Champions League brings placement to the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa League, however, if the Croatian runner-up skips the first hurdle in the qualifications, they will have guaranteed a European autumn. Namely, relegation in the 3rd round of the Champions League means direct placement in the Europa League group stage.

We emphasize that only one match will be played in all preliminary rounds, and a draw will decide the host. The only exception is the last, play-off round in which the standard two matches will be played.

The preliminary round of the Champions League will be played between August 8 and 11, the first qualifying round on August 18 and 19, the second on August 25 and 26, the third on September 15 and 16, and the playoffs on September 22 and 30. The group draw will be held in Athens on October 1, and the competition begins on October 20.

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March 21, 2020 - The coronavirus crisis could see many Croatian clubs fold if they don't get the support they need.

The coronavirus pandemic is posing a serious threat to Croatian sport, reports Gol.hr.

There are alarming situations in many Federations that have already sought help from the Croatian Olympic Committee and the Central Sports Office. They are asking to establish some model of support so that the worst-case scenario does not happen - that clubs fold.

Sports around the world are particularly in danger because of the coronavirus crisis, as everything has come to a halt. Croatian federations and clubs have sounded the alarm, because if they don’t see support, we could easily see many Croatian clubs crumble. The Croatian Swimming Federation has already appealed to the Croatian Olympic Committee.

The appeal urges the HOO to try to find some model of co-financing for the clubs so that they are not extinguished. There are 57 swimming clubs in the Federation, and now they are left without the only source of income - membership fees.

Tomislav Družak, the head of the Central State Office for Sport, is aware that some of the funds that have been earmarked for competitions will not be spent, so they will be converted.

"As budget funds come in, we will we sort them out by federations while not being rigorous when it comes to controlling the justification of those funds," he said.

Taekwondo is also in big trouble. The European Championship, which was supposed to be held in Zagreb in May, has already been postponed, and only three Olympians are training due to the pandemic.

Football clubs are also having problems, and how the Croatian Football Federation will help them should be clearer next week.

"We will also ask for help from the state. Next week is a meeting with the Secretary of State, so we will see how we can help," said Executive Director of the Croatian Football Federation Marijan Kustić.

Of course, the health of every athlete is paramount, but we must look to the future, because if the state and umbrella sports institutions do not get involved, many clubs could crumble.

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Croatia will now have five clubs in European competitions for the 2020/2021 season.