The guest team were afraid to leave their hotel as several hundred supporters of Dinamo Zagreb Football Club, known as the Bad Blue Boys (BBB), had gathered outside the sports hall a few hours before the start of the match.
After receiving assurances that they would get to the venue safe, the Belgraders arrived at the Dom Sportova sports hall at 5.30 p.m., half an hour before the game was due to start. Just as everyone thought that the match would start on schedule, several supporters attacked a group of Serbian journalists as they entered the venue.
Some of the journalists hit back. One of them jumped on a table and started taunting the Croatian supporters with a Partisan shawl. This only angered the BBB, who then lunged at the journalists with a hail of blows. The police intervened and stopped the attackers, while the journalists escaped from the hall.
Although the Partisan players were showered with coins and cigarette lighters when they came on the court, the match kicked off. No incidents occurred during the game.