Overview

Twenty one teams contested the league championship this season. Red Star Belgrade

Red Star Belgrade

Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...

 managed to win it in the end with four points more than eternal rivals FK Partizan

FK Partizan

Fudbalski klub Partizan is a professional football club based in Belgrade, Serbia. In its long history, FK Partizan won as many as 37 trophies. The club is the holder of 23 national championships, 12 national cups and 1 national supercup, and has also won the Mitropa Cup in 1978...

.

Tragedy at the Eternal Derby: death of Aca Radović

The season was marred by the tragic event that occurred on October 31, 1999 during Partizan vs. Red Star tie (the 113th edition of the so-called Večiti derbi

Eternal derby (Serbia)

The Eternal derby also called the Belgrade derby is a match between the fiercest city rivals Red Star and Partizan, two of the biggest and most popular sports societies in Serbia. Rivalry is present in a number of different sports but the most intensive matches are between football, basketball,...

) when 17-year-old Red Star fan Aleksandar "Aca" Radović from Opovo

Opovo

Opovo is a town and municipality in South Banat, in the province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 4,664, while Opovo municipality has 10,938 inhabitants.-Name:...

 got killed by a signaling rocket fired from within the stadium. Radović was supporting his team from the Partizan Stadium

Partizan Stadium

Partizan Stadium is a football and track-and-field stadium in Belgrade, Serbia, owned by FK Partizan. It carried the name JNA Stadium for a long time and was the site of Youth Day parade. Even today, the majority of football fans in all countries of the former Yugoslavia call it by its old name....

's north end when in 20th minute of the match he got hit in the chest by a signaling rocket fired from the opposite end of the stadium, which is where Partizan fans were located. Partizan just scored a goal to go up 1-0 and certain members of their fans Grobari

Grobari

Grobari are supporters of the Belgrade football club Partizan Belgrade. They are one of two major football fan groups in Serbia...

 fired a series of ship signaling rockets from the south stand where they traditionally gather as a way of celebrating the goal. Most of those rockets landed on the stadium's north stand where Red Star's fans Delije

Delije

Delije roughly translated to English as Heroes is an umbrella name referring to the supporters of various sports clubs that compete under Red Star Belgrade Sports Society banner....

 always gather, and one of them hit the unfortunate teenager right in the chest near his throat. He died almost instantly as he was being moved from the stands onto the stadium's athletic track and into the ambulance car.

Amazingly, the match was not stopped and the two teams continued playing, a decision that led to a lot of public criticism directed at two clubs, the football league, and the FA.

Further investigation conducted by the police discovered that the particular rocket that killed Radović was fired by 25-year-old Partizan fan Majk Halkijević. In addition to Halkijević, three other individuals Nenad "Kec" Kecojević, Aleksandar "Sale" Aleksić, and Zoran "Prcko" Jovanović were also firing rockets at the stadium on the same occasion. According to the investigation, the ship signaling rockets were originally purchased in Greece before being smuggled into Serbia. In Belgrade, Grobari leader Zoran "Čegi" Živanović bought 10 of them along with 60 flares, all from Mirko Urban. Čegi brought the stuff to Partizam Stadium on the day of the derby, handing it over to Časlav "Čaja" Kurandić. Čaja then snuck the flares and rockets into the stadium with help from FK Partizan's equipment manager Branko "Gavran" Vučićević who hid them inside the bags with team's sports equipment. Once inside the team's dressing room the packages with flares and rockets were passed to Goran "Tuljak" Matović and Dragan "Lepi Gaga" Petronić through the dressing room's window. From then on the packages were carried through east stand and onto the south stand through the protective fence while Nikola "Džoni" Dedović diverted steward's attention. On the south stand, group leader Čegi distributed the rockets and flares to certain number of Grobari, including Majk Halkijević.

At the trial that dragged on for almost two years, the accused were not tried for murder but for a lesser charge of disturbing public order and causing general endangerment. The verdict was delivered on March 1, 2001 with Halkijević getting one year and 11 months sentence. Aleksandar "Sale" Aleksić got one year and eight months while Nenad "Kec" Kecojević, Zoran "Čegi" Živanović (Grobari leader) and Časlav "Čaja" Kurandić got year and a half. Furthermore, Dragan "Lepi Gaga" Petronić and Srđan Šalipurović got six months, while Mirko Urban also known as Mirko Pekar (Mirko the Baker), accused of selling the rockets to Grobari, got year and a half. Others who were on the accused list but received no sentence were Zoran "Prcko" Jovanović, Nikola "Džoni" Dedović, Branko "Gavran" Vučićević, and Goran "Tuljak" Matović.

League standings

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
1	Red Star Red Star Belgrade Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...	40	33	6	1	85	19	105
2	Partizan FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan is a professional football club based in Belgrade, Serbia. In its long history, FK Partizan won as many as 37 trophies. The club is the holder of 23 national championships, 12 national cups and 1 national supercup, and has also won the Mitropa Cup in 1978...	40	32	5	3	111	30	101
3	Obilić FK Obilic Fudbalski klub Obilić is a football club based in Belgrade, Serbia. Named after legendary Serbian medieval hero Miloš Obilić, the club currently competes in the Druga beogradska liga - grupa Dunav .The club's stadium is also named accordingly; to venerate the Serbian knight it is called the...	40	28	5	7	71	32	89
4	Rad Beograd FK Rad FK Rad is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. It plays at Stadion Kralj Petar I, which is located in the southern part of the city's Banjica neighbourhood....	40	17	9	14	56	46	60
5	Sutjeska	40	17	9	14	50	50	60
6	Čukarički FK Cukaricki Stankom FK Čukarički Stankom is a Serbian football club from Belgrade that plays in the Serbian SuperLiga.- History :...	40	15	11	14	42	43	56
7	OFK Beograd OFK Beograd Omladinski fudbalski klub Beograd, commonly referred to as OFK Beograd , is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia, more precisely from the Karaburma urban neighborhood. It currently is the oldest team playing in the Serbian SuperLiga. The name means "Youth Football Club Belgrade" in Serbian...	40	15	10	15	58	62	55
8	Železnik FK Železnik FK Železnik was a football club from Belgrade, Serbia.Founded in 1930, the club merged into FK Voždovac in June 2005 and thus ceased activities.-History:...	40	15	9	16	55	47	54
9	Zemun FK Zemun FK Zemun is a football club located in Zemun, a municipality of Belgrade, in Serbia.- History :Immediately after the end of the Second World War the sports activities in Zemun are restored...	40	15	9	16	47	57	54
10	Vojvodina FK Vojvodina FK Vojvodina is a football club from Novi Sad, Serbia. The club currently competes in the Serbian SuperLiga. FK Vojvodina is the third oldest football club in Serbia's SuperLiga, after OFK Beograd which was founded in 1911 and FK Javor which was founded in 1912.-History:FK Vojvodina was founded...	40	15	8	17	54	40	53
11	Radnički Niš	40	16	4	20	50	49	52
12	Budućnost Podgorica FK Buducnost Podgorica FK Budućnost is a football club from Podgorica, Montenegro, currently competing in the First League of Montenegro. Its colours are blue and white. FK Buducnost is a part of the Budućnost sport society.-History:...	40	15	7	18	45	45	52
13	Radnički Kragujevac FK Radnicki Kragujevac Fudbalski Klub Radnički 1923 is a professional football club from Kragujevac, Serbia....	40	13	13	14	35	41	52
14	Hajduk Kula	40	15	7	18	39	46	52
15	Milicionar FK Milicionar Beograd FK Milicionar was a Serbian football team based in Belgrade. Ran by Serbian Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs, they were formerly a Yugoslav First League team, but owing to financial problems they were forced to quit professional football in 2001 by merging into FK Radnički Obrenovac.The club...	40	14	9	19	52	52	51
16	Sartid	40	14	8	18	42	47	50
17	Proleter FK Proleter Zrenjanin FK Proleter Zrenjanin was a football club from the city of Zrenjanin, Vojvodina, Serbia.-Early period:...	40	12	10	18	36	49	46
18	Hajduk Beograd FK Hajduk Beograd FK Hajduk Beograd is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia.-Recent seasons:1 Championship abandoned officially on May 14, 1999 due to the NATO attacks on FR Yugoslavia.-Current squad:...	40	14	3	23	56	75	45
19	Mogren Budva FK Mogren FK Mogren is a football club based in Budva, Montenegro, currently competing in the Montenegrin First League.-History:The club was founded in 1920.The Mogren at its inception called Budva FK, and from 1991 was called FK Mogren....	40	13	5	22	40	70	44
20	Spartak Subotica	40	8	5	27	34	84	29
21	Borac Čačak FK Borac Cacak Fudbalski klub Borac Čačak is a professional football club based in Čačak, Serbia.It was founded in 1926. Borac plays at the Čačak Stadium which has a capacity of 5,000....	40	6	4	30	36	100	22

Champions

Red Star Belgrade (Coach: Miloljub Ostojić (sacked couple of weeks into the season), Slavoljub Muslin

Slavoljub Muslin

Slavoljub Muslin is a Serbian football manager and a former player who currently manages FC Krasnodar...

)

Players (league matches/league goals) Milenko Ačimovič

Milenko Acimovic

Milenko Ačimović is a former Slovenian footballer who last played for Austria giants Austria Wien. He was a playmaker who has a great passing range and an abundance of skill...

 Srđan Bajčetić Nikoslav Bjegović

Nikoslav Bjegović

Nikoslav Bjegović is a retired Serbian international football player.-Career:...

 Branko Bošković

Branko Boškovic

Branko Bošković , is a Montenegrin footballer who plays for D.C. United in Major League Soccer, and for the national team.-Club:...

 Goran Bunjevčević

Goran Bunjevcevic

Goran Bunjevčević is a former Serbian footballer who played as a defender, including 5 seasons at Tottenham Hotspur ....

 Milivoje Vitakić

Milivoje Vitakic

Milivoje Vitakić is a Serbian footballer who plays for Grenoble Foot 38 in the French Ligue 1, after departing Lille OSC under freedom of contract.-References:...

 Ivan Vukomanović

Ivan Vukomanovic

Ivan Vukomanović is a football player from Serbia.He plays in the defensive midfield.Previous clubs include Alania Vladikavkaz, Girondins Bordeaux, FC Dynamo Moscow, Red Star Belgrade, 1. FC Köln, SC Lokeren, Maccabi Herzliya F.C...

 Blaže Georgioski

Blaže Georgioski

Blaže Georgioski is a Macedonian international football player.-Club career:...

 Stevo Glogovac Jovan Gojković

Jovan Gojković

Jovan "Cune" Gojković was a Serbian international football player.-Career:...

 Ivan Gvozdenović

Ivan Gvozdenovic

Ivan Gvozdenović is a Serbian football defender who currently plays for KS Skenderbeu Korce in Albanian Superliga.- Career :...

 Ivan Dudić

Ivan Dudic

Ivan Dudić is a Serbian football player.He played for several clubs, including Red Star Belgrade in Serbia and SL Benfica in Portugal...

 Goran Drulić

Goran Drulic

Goran Drulić is a Serbian footballer who plays for Andorra CF in Spain, as a striker.-Club career:...

 Dejan Ilić

Dejan Ilic

Prof. Dr. Dejan Ilic is a Serbian natural scientist and manager.-Education:Ilic studied physical chemistry at universities in Belgrade and Dresden...

 Branko Jelić

Branko Jelic

Branko Jelić is a Serbian football player who last played for Australian A-League club Perth Glory.- Club career :...

 Aleksandar Kocić

Aleksandar Kocic

Aleksandar Kocić , is a Serbian former football goalkeeper....

 (goalkeeper) Nenad Lalatović

Nenad Lalatović

Nenad Lalatović is a retired Serbian international football player.-External sources:* in Serbian Federation website.* in National-football-teams.* at Srbijafudbal....

 Leo Lerinc

Leo Lerinc

Leo Lerinc is a retired Serbian football player of Hungarian descent.-Career:...

 Marjan Marković

Marjan Markovic

Marjan Marković Marjan Marković Marjan Marković (Serbian Cyrillic: Марјан Марковић ; born September 28, 1981 in Požarevac, Serbia, is a Serbian football defender, currently playing for First Vienna....

 Dragan Mićić

Dragan Mićić

Dragan Mićić is a Bosnian Serb professional football player.-Career:He started the career in his hometown club FK Radnik Bijeljina. In 1993, he moved to Serbian club FK Loznica playing in the First League of FR Yugoslavia...

 Nenad Miljković Vladislav Mirković Miodrag Pantelić

Miodrag Pantelic

Miodrag Pantelić is a former Serbian football player.-Career:Pantelić begin playing for FK Novi Sad, and continued his caree playing for Serbian FK Vojvodina and Red Star Belgrade, Bulgarian Levski Sofia and Chinese Dalian Shide and Beijing Guoan...

 Dejan Pešić

Dejan Pešic

Dejan Pešić is a Serbian football goalkeeper who last played for Gol Gohar in the Iranian Azadegan League.-External sources:* at Transfermarkt.* at RomanianSoccer....

 Mihajlo Pjanović

Mihajlo Pjanovic

Mihajlo Pjanović is a Serbian football striker.-Career:He started playing in OFK Belgrade from where he will move in 1998 to another Belgrade club Red Star...

 Dragan Stevanović

Dragan Stevanović

Dragan Stevanović is a retired Serbian football player. He started his youth career in FK Partizan but never become senior player of " black-white " team....

 Boban Stojanović

Boban Stojanovic

Boban Stojanović is a Serbian football striker. He currently playes for FK Borac Čačak in the Serbian SuperLiga....

 Dalibor Škorić

Dalibor Škorić

Dalibor Škorić is a retired Serbian professional football player.- Career :...

External links

• Tables and results at RSSSF