Partizan was established in 1945 by the Yugoslav People’s Army but has been independent of the army since the 1950's. Partizan was a runner-up in the European Cup 1966 and has reached the "round-of-16" stage in the UEFA cup four times. Partizan is a 10-time national champion.
Žarko Zečević was general secretary of Partizan for 23 years until he resigned last year, after months of game boycotts, fan demonstrations and negative media coverage. He went to work as director of a Serbia subsidiary of Gazprom. His father, Slavko, a minister of police at one time, sat on the board.
During the 1990's, foreign clubs buying players from Partizan avoided the embargo against Serbia by sending money to accounts of off-shore companies that club officials were using, mostly Karrane Ltd.
In 1995, Slobodan Milosavljević, once an associate of Zečević’s in Partizan, published a book and described frauds by Partizan officials during the early 1990s. He also sued Zečević for wrongdoing in office. Milosavljević was brought in for police questioning and said he was beaten. Released, he fled the country.
Mirko Vučurević, a former member of the board of Partizan was listed by police in 2003 as the organizer of a cigarette smuggling operation in Serbia through his firm Okrim for smuggling.
Partizan players Danko Lazović and Dragoljub Jeremić were arrested in 2003 on suspicions of being connected to the Zemun criminal clan.
