The NATO air campaign in Serbia and Kosovo has sparked anguish and protest among Yugoslav soccer and basketball players who make their living in professional leagues throughout Europe. Walkouts, demonstrations, black arm bands, anti-Nato slogans, banners and T-shirts have all been used by Serb sportsmen to denounce the bombings.

Gordon Petric, a Yugoslav soccer international who plays for English First Division Club Crystal Palace, said a Nato bomb landed within 200 metres of his family's home in Belgrade. While Petric decided to keep playing for his London club, his thoughts were far from soccer.

``I can't eat, I can't even breath properly at the moment,'' he said. ``I cannot explain how hard it is to think about football. But I don't want to cry about it. The Yugoslav football players must not cry at this time.''

In Spain, Italy, France andGermany, Yugoslav players have been making themselves heard. But some have had to cut out or tone down their protests under pressure from their clubs.

Shortly after Nato began its air campaign to force Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic to accept a peace agreement in Kosovo, eight Serbs refused to play in Spanish League soccer matches. Several joined in anti-Nato demonstrations in Madrid.

Real Madrid's star striker, Pedrag Mijatovic, wrapped himself in a Yugoslav flag at one demonstration. ``As one of the most important sportsmen of my country I had to express an opinion,'' he said. ``People were expecting me to say something and I could not say that I didn't care about what is happening there.''

Mijatovic got into trouble with Real Madrid when he refused to play against Alaves. He was fined $ 32,000, the maximum penalty under the club's rules, and warned he would be kicked off the team if he continued his boycott.

Mijatovic ended his walkout and played Sunday against Celta. All other Yugoslavplayers in Spain also returned to action over the weekend. Some, including Goran Djorovic of Celta, wore black arm bands.

In Italy, many Serie A soccer players emerged for Sunday's games wearing T-shirts in support of the Italian government's project to provide humanitarian aid for Kosovar refugees.

Two Yugoslav players, Lazio's Sinisa Mihajlovic and Juventus' Zoran Mirkovic, donned T-shirts reading, `Peace no war' for the second straight weekend. They also wore black arm bands. Last weekend, the entire Sampdoria of Genoa Club wore the `Peace no war' shirts over their jerseys to show solidarity with Yugoslav teammate Nenad Sakic.

Yugoslav basketball players in Italy have worn black mourning ribbons. Predrag Danilovic, a former NBA player now with Kinder Bologna, said Yugoslav players have rejected the idea of boycotting games for now. ``But if Milosevic were to ask us to not play, I could not fight that,'' he said.

Point guard Sasa Obradovic, who plays for Roma Pompea, said he was thinking of hisparents and sister in Belgrade.``I have a lot of pain inside,'' he said.