Serbian water polo players at a beachfront cafe have jumped into the freezing sea, apparently to evade an attack by Croatian nationalists.

The incident in the Croatian Adriatic port of Split occurred before a regional league match between Mornar Split and Red Star Belgrade.

Members of a Serbian water polo team have reportedly been attacked in Croatia. Credit:Sydney Morning Herald

Video footage (seen below) and photos on the website of Croatian newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija showed the Red Star goalkeeper in the sea trying to elude attackers. Some locals were shown coming to his rescue.

Red Star decided not to play the match and returned to Belgrade. The team said the goalkeeper had a broken nose after being attacked by "Croatian hooligans".