Croatia will face Serbia in a World Cup qualifier in Zagreb on 22 March in front of a sold out Maksimir stadium of only its own fans. Delegates from both the Croatian and Serbian football federations have decided that matches played between the two nations during the World Cup qualifiers will not permit away fans.

In order to best organise the upcoming qualifying matches for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil – On 22 March 2013 in Zagreb and on 6 September 2013 in Serbia, representatives of the Croatian and Serbian Football Association held a meeting at which they discussed and jointly agreed on a number of sport, safety and other technical details for the upcoming matches.

In accordance with the recommendations of FIFA and UEFA and authorities of both countries, it was jointly decided that for the next two qualifying Group A matches between Croatia and Serbia that organised fans of visiting teams will be permitted. The decision was based on the fact that in both cases the matches are of high risk and it was concluded that this was the best possible preventive action, said the statement.