Boy in court over sujud, no one questions Branislav Crnogorac for his actions

By: Armin Aljović

Karim and minor M. H. are proving these days that they are not nationalists. An unusual trial is being held before the Municipal Court in Sarajevo. The most decorated young BH judoka and his father and coach were punished because M. H. (14) performed sujud (prayed to God) after winning a trophy in Bihać, in April this year. The heartfelt celebration of the young judoka bothered the leaders of the Judo Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Hebib family has been temporarily suspended from sports competitions. M. H. was punished for expressing religious feelings, and Karim is blamed for not sanctioning M. H. He bears responsibility towards M. H. both as a coach and as a father. The younger Hebib was punished with a ban from competitions for the entire year of 2017. Karim was first punished with a two-year, then a three-year ban from coaching. He must avoid sports halls with a wide berth!?

For an athlete, this also means the end of a professional career. For the boy, it becomes a problem to cope with his own feelings.

Because, a particular problem is that such incredible persecutions are carried out against a teenager who, even, has not yet left boyhood. What sense does such an attitude make towards a being that is just beginning to mature? In any civilized country, punishing someone who expresses basic religious feelings cannot happen. In this case, the joy of victory was mixed with gratitude to God. How many times have we seen that on all televisions and in all sports? Whoever has a problem with that here in BiH has a serious problem with themselves. Whoever would punish such actions in any civilized country would suffer very serious consequences. The case of father and son Hebib speaks most about those who punish.      

The minutes of the Disciplinary Commission of the Judo Federation were submitted to the Federal Police Administration and the RS MUP. As if the Hebib family were the greatest national threat in the country. Under recent pressure from neighboring Croatia, it would not be surprising if they were also declared terrorists.

The Federation's decision shocked the public, although it is hard to shock it. If the public in BiH were sensitive, they would not have allowed, for example, 20 years of systemic plunder of the country.

While a confused boy tries to prove what he was thinking on that unfortunate day for him in Bihać, the president of the Judo Federation of BiH, Branislav Crnogorac, is being reproached for a series of scandals. And he does not even bother to show a clean slate in public.

The accusations of opponents and journalists are not checked by the prosecutor's office. Journalists have done their part. The prosecutor's office is silent.

It is believed that Crnogorac is the absolute master of sports in BiH. One of the most decorated judo coaches, once a judoka who had a top career. Today, unfortunately, he does some things that ugly cover everything he has given to sports in Bosnia and Herzegovina. First of all, he holds an incredible number of functions. Crnogorac is the president of the Judo Federation of BiH, the most prominent man of the Sports Federation in BiH, a professor at the Sarajevo Faculty of Sports and Physical Education and the Faculty of Education in Travnik. Since last year, he has been an education advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs, Aljoša Čampara.

It is obvious that Fadil Novalić's SDA uses reforms to place its own cadres. They employ close associates to improve the average of employees.

In a response from the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Sarajevo Canton from April 2015, it is stated that Crnogorac is also a member of the Assembly of the company Bossina d.o.o. This company manages the resort of the same name in Zaostrog. The value of the property of this resort was estimated several years ago at more than five million KM. It is unclear how Crnogorac organized the 'Athlete of the Year' selection. The Association Sports Federation of BiH, the holder of the event, was registered only this year. Until now, it was not in any register. Just one selection of the athlete of the year costs tens of thousands of KM. The event is financed with taxpayers' money.

There is no official signature of Crnogorac in the case of Karim and M. H. Insiders explain that Crnogorac, nevertheless, must bear responsibility for this scandal. If nothing else, he should have already reacted publicly and said that he disagrees with such unreasonable positions of one of his commissions. But, it is unlikely that the Disciplinary Commission made the decision without his knowledge. He is the first man of the Judo Federation of BiH. From that position, he has an obligation to protect all BH judokas. If he did not know about this oversight, his sin is even greater. The president does not deserve to collect presidential benefits if he is not able to control processes in his own house.

The boy and his father have a huge problem. They have dedicated themselves to only one sport - judo. The one who stands above sports and especially judo in BiH is stretched across a dozen always profitable sides.