Maybe Husref went too far, but politics, Vico, and the association don't understand any other language!

By: Amina Čorbo-Zećo

No lesson from the past is more relevant in Bosnia and Herzegovina than 'First they came,' the well-known statement and provocative poem about the sluggishness and inaction of German intellectuals after the Nazis came to power and the policy of 'cleansing' certain social groups.

The essence of this is that they took away group by group of thinking people, and no one protested, but in the end, when they reached you, there was no one left to protest.

This is certainly how most football fans and admirers of the legend Husref Musemić feel today. While not justifying his behavior, in which he swore and reacted emotionally due to refereeing decisions, I cannot shake the impression that the punishment would have been less severe if Musemić had not mentioned Vico Zeljković in his fit of rage.

The nephew of Milorad Dodik, the untouchable politically installed president of the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

To be perfectly clear, I must explain here how the system works. It was, now quite a long time ago in 2020, when Patria published an article titled 'Football Association of BiH Promotes Fascism with Penalties and Creates New Criminals from the Stands'.

My colleague Rasim Belko at the time critically discussed the lenient penalties for clubs whose fans glorify war criminals, receiving the same penalties as clubs whose fans throw firecrackers!? We tried to explain then that penalties of a few thousand KM and a ban from one stand were not only insufficient but shameful and insulting to intelligence.

The court in Mostar fined my media house and the author 10,000 KM (we duly respected the verdict). Imagine, a court punishes for the author's value judgment. The case is before the Constitutional Court of BiH, and our fight will not stop! We will go to Strasbourg because we did not remain silent, and we will not remain silent today, when Musemić faces a penalty as if he had physically assaulted the referee, especially since information has already emerged about rule violations, as statements from all parties involved were not collected!

But what is important to learn today?

That nothing has changed since 2020. Our Football Association of BiH is guided by some strange motives in its punishments, and we are groping in the dark.

Thus, those who pay tribute to the victims of genocide and those who deny genocide receive the same penalties.

Those who display symbols of convicted para-states are given the same penalty of several thousand KM, while clubs whose fans display the flag of the Army of RBiH, the only internationally recognized army during the aggression against BiH, have points deducted and the result is decided at the green table.

In the end, people are left without a livelihood. But more importantly, it is crucial to understand that there is no area of life that evokes as much passion as the relationship between political actors and football on one hand, and citizens and fans on the other.

Because, although we are not South America, sport here has long been a segment of political influence and the intersection of various issues, I would even dare to say, even issues of state survival.

At the top of our football are parliamentarians, positioned and unpositioned party officials, while those who knew everything about the ball are far from the football fields and are merely commentators on how bad the situation is.

That is why, even before the championship starts, the standings of the top four and bottom four teams are known. That is, the champion, the clubs that will compete in Europe, and those that will go to a lower league are known before the draw determines the schedule. Husref Musemić knows this, and what he witnesses on the fields of Bosnia and Herzegovina inevitably had to ignite Musemić's short fuse, as a legend, he cannot watch referees dictate the results.

Just as the management of FK Sarajevo could not watch last year, so they interrupted the match against Borac. Just as numerous other clubs complained about being robbed, but apparently, unlike Musemić, no one had the courage to target the real culprit - Vico Zeljković.

And Zeljković, thanks to the structure of the Association and those who sit there, is calmly finishing the job of killing BiH football, both the national team and club level.

Sport in Bosnia and Herzegovina has become a tool for spreading nationalism and xenophobia.

Such events can escalate into violence, both in the stands and outside them, which can have broader political and social consequences. We witness this in Mostar, where Čović threatens 'unrest in the south,' and then months later, we have a series of physical confrontations between fan groups.

Sport and politics are inextricably linked in many different ways. While sport can be a tool for promoting peace and international understanding, it can also be an arena for political conflicts and the expression of social dissatisfaction. Dodik knows this, Vico knows this, and those from whom a reaction was expected also know and remain silent - the pro-Bosnian, Bosniak untalents in the management of the Association and who knows what other commissions.

Husref also knows, but he cannot remain silent, because everything he honestly builds on the foundation of skill and knowledge is stolen from him thanks to the corrupt system of referees, disciplinary officials, the Executive Board, and President Vice Zeljković.

Therefore, thank you, Husref, because anyone who raises their voice against the scourge that has attacked the most important secondary thing is a kind of injection in an attempt to save BiH football.