April 25, 2019 - After defending the Croatian championship, Dinamo will try to do the same in the Croatian Cup against Rijeka next month.

Dinamo Zagreb has been crowned the Croatian champion for the 2018/19 season. 

Dinamo Zagreb will not be able to count on the support of their fans in their next two European challenges at Maksimir stadium.

The excellent performance of Dinamo Zagreb in Europe this season has also filled the club's cash register and increased the value of the players. Thus, Dinamo has concluded their European campaign with around 14 million euro in the bank, reports HRT on March 15, 2019. 

Here’s how the money was collected. 

Just for participating in the qualifications of the Champions League, Dinamo will receive five million euro, and in the Europa league, more than eight million euro.

Dinamo will also receive 2.9 million euro for making it to the group stage. For each of the four wins in their group, the club earned 570,000 euro, and for each of the two draws, 190,000 euro.

For winning first place in the group, Dinamo received another 1 million euro bonus and half a million for making it to the round of 32. Advancing to the round of 16 made the club yet another 1.1 million euro richer. 

UEFA will distribute up to 2.55 billion euro to the clubs participating in the Champions League, Europa League and the Supercup this season. From that amount, clubs in the Champions League will see 2.04 billion euro and clubs from the Europa league 510 million euro.

Dinamo’s excellent European season has also increased the value of players themselves. Interestingly, the value of Dinamo's players has risen by 22 million euro after they won against Benfica in Zagreb. Before the match, Dinamo was worth 50 million euro, and today, 72 million.

The most expensive player is Dani Olmo, who is worth 15 million euro and is the only player worth more than 10 million euro at the club. Captain Arijan Ademi was assessed at 6 million euro, French player Kevin Theophile-Catherine at 5 million, Bosnia and Herzegovina representative Amer Gojak at 4.5 million euro, and Mislav Oršić at 3.5 million euro.

New Croatia national team player Bruno Petković was estimated at three million euro, just like Izet Hajrović and Mario Gavranović.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

March 14, 2019 - Dinamo Zagreb and Benfica met in Lisbon at the legendary Luz stadium for the second leg of the Europa League round of 16. Recall, in the first match, Dinamo won 1:0 at Maksimir. 

Around 1,500 Dinamo fans traveled to Lisbon for the Europa League spectacle, and allegedly, a Torcida group could also be spotted at the stadium, as they are known to have good relations with Benfica fan group "No Name Boys”.

Dinamo coach Nenad Bjelica could not count on four players for tonight’s game. Namely, captain Arijan Ademi and Izet Hajrović were out due to injuries, while Ivan Šunjić and Marin Leovac were suspended for yellow cards. 

Dinamo played smart and with patience in the first half, and even had a few decent chances to score. Though they were unable to capitalize, the talk of the first half is definitely the controversy of the 22nd minute - should Dinamo have received a penalty? You can see for yourself below. 

22' #SLBenfica 0 - 0 #GNKDinamo
Gabriel y Petković caen en el interior del área benfiquista. Aytekin señala infracción del delantero del Dinamo. Se la jugó el '8' encarnado. pic.twitter.com/UhMJE6Muey

— Fútbol Portugal © ?? (@FutbolPortugal) March 14, 2019

The first half ended without goals, and the start of the second didn’t see the pace of the game change much. However, it was only a matter of time before Benfica picked up their game and reinstilled hope of advancing to the quarterfinals. 

And there it was, in the 71st minute - Jonas scored a somewhat awkward volley for 1:0. With no other goals and at an aggregate of 1:1, the game was forced into extra time.

In the 94th minute, Benfica took the lead with a rocket by Francisco Ferriera. Benfica led 2:0.

Dinamo had a chance to come back just moments later, though Gojak missed in front of an open goal to everyone's disbelief. The Zagreb side was fizzling. 

And then things took a turn for the worse - Dinamo's Stojanović was given a double-yellow for insulting the referee and was ejected from the game. Just minutes later, Grimaldo scored for Benfica. The game was now 3:0. 

Dinamo had another incredible chance in the 110th minute, though Atiemwen went wide of the goal. The game ended 3:0 for Benfica, who will move onto the quarterfinals. 

Dinamo has thus completed what was otherwise a brilliant Europa League campaign. 

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

The footage of a Croatian policeman who is forcing a group of detained migrants to chant "Dinamo Zagreb" is spreading on social networks, reports Index.hr on March 12, 2019.

The Centre for Peace Studies has received a confirmation from the Ministry of Interior that the Croatian police officer was responsible for filming a group of migrants and encouraging them to chant the football fans’ slogan.

The footage was made on 6 March in the area of the Cetingrad border police station. “Given that the persons spoke English well, one of the police officers encouraged them to engage in improper communication and filmed them with the help of a mobile device,” said the police, according to the Centre for Peace Studies.

The Ministry also added that the police would initiate disciplinary proceedings against three police officers who were present, while the policeman who filmed the migrants would be removed from duty. The persons who tried to enter Croatia later returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Here is the police response to questions about the incident.

“Immediately after we received initial information, on Friday, March 8, in order to determine all the relevant facts about the time and place of the controversial incident and before the footage was made public, necessary checks and inquiries were made on the ground and it was established as follows:

The controversial event took place on Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in the area covered by the Cetingrad border police station. At the borderline, the police officers noted a group of people who were resting. The police officers warned them that their further progress would represent an illegal crossing of the state border and that they must return. Given that the persons spoke English well, one of the police officers encouraged them to engage in improper communication and filmed them with the help of a mobile device. Given that the police officers prevented their illegal entry into Croatia, the persons left their position and returned into the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Against three of the police officers involved in the event the competent superiors will initiate disciplinary proceedings for a severe violation of the official duty, while the police officer who filmed and acted improperly and inappropriately communicated with the persons will be removed from duty because the disciplinary violation is such that his further stay in the service might harm the interests of the service," wrote the Interior Ministry in the response.

The Karlovac Police Administration is conducting a criminal investigation to determine all the circumstances of the event and stresses that they have repeatedly expressed attitude of zero tolerance to any unlawful behaviour by police officers, adding that they condemn such conduct.

Translated from Index.hr.

More news about the migrant crisis can be found in the Politics section.

March 7, 2019 - Dinamo Zagreb and Benfica met at Maksimir stadium on Thursday for the first leg of the Europa League round of 16. 

A woman will lead Dinamo Zagreb for the first time in the club’s history. 

Dinamo Zagreb will play against Benfica in the Europa League round of 16!

February 21, 2019 - The Europa League fairytale continues for Dinamo Zagreb as they move into the round of 16.