Serbian soccer fans have spotlighted the long history of US and NATO military actions in a coordinated display at a recent game.
Spectators at Thursday's UEFA Europa League match in Belgrade -- a victory for the home Red Star over the visiting FC Rangers of Scotland -- held up a series of banners listing US/NATO interventions in recent decades, with the final sign reading "All we are saying is give peace a chance."
Many of the fans were singing the John Lennon song of the same name while holding up their cell phones with the flash light turned on.
The display comes as Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine enters its fourth bloody week.
While most condemnations have rightly targeted Russia for its illegal incursion, some critics say the US and its NATO allies helped instigate the conflict through the eastward expansion of NATO as well as their support for Ukrainian nationalist forces in an eight-year civil war against pro-Russia separatists in eastern regions of Ukraine.
The tragic episode has been felt in virtually all aspects of social and economic life, with sport being no different. Countless athletes and teams have shown their solidarity with Ukraine, while some of their Russian peers have been banned from certain international competitions.
This week, Russian-born tennis star Daniil Medvedev, the world's top-ranked player, was reported to be under pressure to denounce Russian President Vladimir Putin under threat of being barred from competing in Wimbledon.
Meanwhile Russian authorities have continued to detain WNBA star Brittney Griner on drug charges after she was supposedly caught with cartridges of cannabis oil in her luggage at a Moscow airport. Her arrest was recently reported to have been extended through May 19.
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