An FK Partizan fan who lit and threw a flare inside the Ta’ Qali stadium ran away when approached by police officers, a court heard on Friday. 

Damir Andrijevic, a 34-year-old Serbian national who lives in Malta, was in Malta without a valid permit after overstaying the three-month limit on his visa, police discovered after catching him.

Andrijevic first admitted to having lit and thrown the flare onto the pitch during his team’s match against Ħamrun Spartans. 

But minutes later, after speaking to his legal aid lawyer, Andrijevic changed his version of events. He had only thrown the flare after he spotted it lying next to him on the stands, already lit, and he did so to avoid “a greater tragedy,” he said. 

Andrijevic was one of hundreds of FK Partizan fans who attended the Thursday night UEFA Conference League match. The match ended 3-3, with Partizan progressing 7-4 on aggregate. 

Flares were lit up and thrown during the match, said prosecuting Inspector Sarah Kathleen Zerafa when the supporter was arraigned on Friday afternoon.

Police had identified the accused as the one who allegedly held up a flare and then flung it onto the pitch. 

When officers tried to approach the man at the stands, he tried to give them the slip, moving away under the pretext of fetching his personal documents and then mingling with the crowd. 

After the match, police once again approached him and asked for his details. At that poiunt Andrijevic broke into a run, with officers giving chase until they caught up with him.

He was arrested and escorted to court to face charges for lighting and throwing the flare, failing to obey legitimate police orders, insulting and threatening others at the ground and behaving in an abusive manner. 

After consulting his legal aid lawyer and assisted by two interpreters, the accused registered an admission. He withdrew it minutes later to say he had only thrown the flare after finding it lit, and did so to avoid tragedy. 

Such an explanation meant that he was not admitting to the alleged wrongdoing, observed Magistrate Noel Bartolo.

Prosecutors objected to his request for bail, arguing that Andrijevic had no ties to Malta, appeared to have no fixed address and had told the police that his personal documents were lost. 

That was why police had chosen to arraign him under arrest, inspector Zerafa added. 

A search at the Emigration Office revealed that in reality, he had arrived in Malta in May and had thus overstayed his three-month permit. 

In light of such objections, the court turned down the request and remanded him in custody, pointing out that the accused lacked sufficient trustworthiness and also in view of the fear of tampering with evidence. 

Inspector Matthew Attard also prosecuted.Lawyer Leontine Calleja was legal aid counsel.