Football Association of BiH responds to FK Željezničar's accusations

FK Željezničar has issued official statements over the past three days questioning the regularity of the current season of the BH Telecom Premier League of BiH, as well as the work of the NS/FS BiH itself. These accusations were further intensified by the holding of an extraordinary press conference organized by FK Željezničar, as well as individual statements by FK Željezničar officials, especially the club's president Almir Gredić, reports the Bosnian news agency Patria.

The barrage of accusations from FK Željezničar followed the club's match against NK Široki Brijeg, and claims that allegedly controversial refereeing decisions drastically harmed Željezničar in that match. The NS/FS BiH Refereeing Committee, at an extraordinary session initiated, among other things, by the accusations from FK Željezničar, analyzing the disputed situations, determined in which cases the refereeing decisions were in accordance with the rules of the game, and in which situations mistakes were made.

However, after that session, a new barrage of unsubstantiated accusations followed from FK Željezničar, whose leadership also questioned the regularity of competitions held in the last two years under the auspices of the Association, as well as the contract with the company BH Telecom for sponsorship of the Premier League, and decisions related to youth category competitions.

In doing so, of course, FK Željezničar forgot to mention the activities of the Association which, precisely thanks to such a way of working, built a system that provides long-term stability and benefit to the competition in the BH Telecom Premier League, to all clubs, including FK Željezničar.

When it comes to the regularity of the championship, in the last two years the NS/FS BiH has received mostly positive assessments for its organization. All involved in the competition, from clubs, through the sports and wider public, to the bodies of NS/FS BiH, stated that the past season was exceptional in every respect. After all, FK Željezničar saw nothing controversial in the competition when they were winning titles, and it is not fair to discredit the successes and trophies of other clubs.

As for the current season and the campaign launched by FK Željezničar, after only four rounds of the current championship, the Association reminds that there are competent bodies for that, primarily the committees in charge - each in its own area - of running the competition, and if one insists on regularity, then clubs should not unsubstantiatedly question their expertise and professionalism. The Executive Board of NS/FS BiH will certainly analyze the current course of the competition at its meeting on August 25 and inform the public about conclusions and decisions.

Regarding the accusations about the league sponsorship, we remind that the Association has done a great deal for all clubs in this way, including Željezničar. The costs of match officials are financed from sponsorship funds, with the Association also participating with its own resources to regulate all obligations. Thanks to these sources, clubs are exempt from competition fees, receive free high-quality "Adidas" balls, as well as other forms of assistance. As for Željezničar itself, from sponsorship contracts in the past season, the costs of this club for match officials in the amount of 44,418.97 KM were covered. The youth academy of FK Željezničar regularly receives aid funds from the UEFA program, through the Association (last year in the amount of 35,700 KM). Željezničar also, on two occasions, in 2013 and 2014, received financial assistance from the Association of 10,000 KM each, as well as a tranche of 23,000 KM by the decision of the General Assembly of NS/FS BiH from the surplus revenue in 2014 (which was paid out this year). Also, the Association helped FK Željezničar through the UEFA project, when that club received 174,000 KM last year for infrastructure improvement. Through additional efforts of the Association, with the support of BH Telecom as the sponsor of the Premier League, Željezničar should soon receive an additional 15,000 KM for a larger number of matches in TV broadcasts. Therefore, Željezničar has received significant help from the Association, but the club must understand that, while respecting all the results achieved, they are not the only ones in BiH and that the Association is obliged to a certain extent to help other clubs as well, in accordance with the principle of solidarity.

Also, it should be noted that the accusations of FK Željezničar related to youth competitions organized by the Football Association of the Federation of BiH do not refer to NS/FS BiH, because according to the Statute, NS/FS BiH is not competent for those competitions, but they have been brought into the context of the campaign against NS/FS BiH. We wish to remind that the junior and cadet teams of FK Željezničar participate in the competition of the Premier Youth League of BiH, and that the decisions of the competent body of the Football Association of the Federation of BiH prescribe which clubs have the right to participate at a lower level of organizing youth competitions.

Because of all this, and especially after learning that FK Željezničar only considers arguments that favor them, the question arises whether the campaign launched by some officials of that club is now coincidentally timed, and whether its ultimate goal is the realization of personal ambitions of some of those individuals, such as Almir Gredić, who, in doing so, unhesitatingly use club functions to disrupt relations in the Association. Or perhaps these individuals are only hiding their own mistakes with the campaign against the Association.

We would not even want to think that the campaign backed by individuals from FK Željezničar was deliberately placed in a period when the primary concern of the Association is creating a good and constructive atmosphere ahead of our national team's upcoming European Championship qualifiers, especially the match against Belgium.