Soccer fan accused of making Nazi salute at game says he had so many beers he can’t remember if he performed disgraceful act

A man dressed in army camouflage told police he ‘couldn’t remember’ whether he made a gesture that police say was a Nazi salute during a heavily charged football 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 all have a Croatian background and are fervent supporters of Sydney United.

All three men were captured separately performing an alleged ‘Hitler salute’ on CCTV and during a Channel 10 broadcast of the match.

The men are fighting one charge of knowingly displaying a Nazi symbol by a public act without reasonable excuse during a hearing before Magistrate Joy Boulos, which entered its second day on Tuesday.

Body-worn footage of an interview with Mr Lisica months after the alleged incident was played at Parramatta Local Court.

The 45-year-old told Detective Sergeant Aaron Turner that he wore army camouflage and rosary beads during the match in honor of those who died at home during the war in the 1990s.

The court was told Lisica had also brought a large homemade banner reading ‘Za Dom’, which translates to ‘for homeland’.

When asked if he gave a “Nazi salute” during the match, Mr Lisica said he “couldn’t even remember” after drinking 10 beers before and during the match.

“I had a few drinks… I was sitting at the top of the stadium with my huge flag,” he said in the footage.

He told Sergeant Turner that he sat at the top of the stadium for “30-40 minutes” watching the crowd and became “emotional.”

“Suddenly they’re calling us fascists… hands went up everywhere and they were labeling us,” he said.

When asked what his thought process would be if it turned out he had given the Nazi salute, 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 that when we raise our hands it’s a Nazi salute,” he said.

‘I don’t believe it’s Nazism. If they did what they did, it was for Croatia.”

The images were shown in court on Monday showed Mr Sieben telling police he was disgusted that the media had ‘distorted’ a photo of him to make it look like he was showing the Nazi salute.

The 25-year-old, who described himself as a videographer, told police he had a “long story” for them.

“Long story short, I went to lawyers… it was disgusting, the whole thing, everything that was accused of me,” Mr Sieben told police.

He told police he had a beer in one hand and was trying to cheer on his team with the other arm.

“Everyone was singing… the media took my picture and twisted the whole thing to make it look like someone I’m not,” he said.

“It had nothing to do with Hitler’s nonsense… all that nonsense… it was so blown out of proportion.”

Footage from the Channel 10 broadcast and CCTV footage was played to the court, showing Mr Sieben twice holding his right hand in the air for a period of four to five seconds.

Gasparovic’s interview, played in court on Monday afternoon, showed that he told police there was “nothing wrong” when he raised his hand.

He told Sergeant Turner that he had “nothing against” Jewish people.

Mr Gasparovic said he was “proud” to be Croatian and left the football match happy, but was shocked when he saw a photo of himself in the media the next day.

Kristy Campion, senior lecturer in terrorism studies at Charles Sturt University, told the court that a palm salute was not automatically linked to Nazism.

Dr. Campion told the court that history has shown that Croats only began using the salute after World War II and their cooperation with Germany.

The three men are unknown to each other, with the court previously told they had been charged under ‘new’ NSW laws.

Police prosecutor Jarrod Imlay told the court that Lisica wore army camouflage, while Gasparovic carried a World War II Nazi flag.

Meanwhile, Mr Sieben wore a red and white sweater and had the Croatian flag hanging around his neck like a cape.

All three men were interviewed before being charged with knowingly displaying by public act a Nazi symbol without reasonable excuse.

It is the first time anyone has been accused of the crime.

Anyone found guilty of displaying a Nazi symbol without excuse faces a maximum prison sentence of 12 months and/or an $11,000 fine.

The main question at the hearing will be whether the salute is a Nazi symbol, as not defined in the law.

“It will be up to Your Honor to determine beyond reasonable doubt whether the actions of the accused constitute a Nazi symbol,” Mr Imlay said.

Ms Boulos will have to determine whether the elements of the charge have been met and there is reasonable doubt and whether the men ‘knowingly’ behaved in a certain way.

The hearing continues.