Sarajevo Assembly President Condemns Threats to Footballers

The President of the Assembly of Football Club Sarajevo, Valentin Ilievski, shared his views on last night's BiH Cup final match, reports Patria.

He praised the performance of his players on the official website of FK Sarajevo and condemned the threats directed at two Sarajevo footballers following the match in Široki Brijeg.

- Our players played a fantastic match, one of their best in the spring part of the season. In an extremely difficult atmosphere, without fan support, they managed to achieve victory. In the penalty shootout, luck simply wasn't on our side, and defeat is an integral part of sports. I believe we can be proud of our players for how they performed in Široki Brijeg, as they achieved a victory at this away ground after more than ten years.”, said Ilievski, adding: - Sarajevo was wronged in the final. In the two final matches, two obvious penalties were not awarded to us. After the match at Košev, the referee was suspended precisely because of this. We do not want to attribute the failure to refereeing decisions, but it is a fact that Sarajevo was the better team in both matches of the BiH Cup final and that these decisions significantly influenced the outcome”, said Ilievski.

During the night, after the match itself, extremely ugly and incomprehensible scenes occurred, which Ilievski explained.

- After the match, our players Edin Rustemović and Nermin Crnkić received extremely ugly threats from individuals. An unknown group of individuals even went to Rustemović's home, threw stones at his window, called him, and his family was inside the apartment, alone and frightened, and they were threatened. Such behavior is reprehensible! It crosses the boundaries of reasonable human behavior, and the club will do everything to protect its players from such behavior. Edin Rustemović has been playing for Sarajevo for three years, fighting for this jersey. He heads into tackles, he played injured on several occasions, he put his health second when it came to the club, and when taking a penalty, he decisively raised his hand to take it. It's a matter of sports luck or misfortune at this moment that the ball didn't end up in the goal, but is that a reason to threaten a family and go to their home?! Nermin Crnkić is receiving messages threatening his life. We are talking about a guy who is the second-highest scorer for the team and who has brought a lot of joy to the club this season. What kind of message are we sending this way?! How can Sarajevo even attract players, coaches, or youth players after this?! I repeat, the club will do everything in its power to fully protect its players in accordance with legal frameworks, because we are aware that this is the act of irresponsible individuals”, said Ilievski, adding:

- The entire team, along with the coaching staff, is extremely affected by such events, as these are truly serious matters. We offer the team and the coaching staff our full support in this difficult time. Rustemović and Crnkić have been under the club's protection since last night and will certainly be given days off as they are emotionally distressed. I am extremely sorry for the guys who have experienced such bad experiences, and I deeply hope that the same will not happen again, because our desire is for Sarajevo to be a club that brings families together and creates an extremely beautiful sporting story. A few days ago, in the north stand of the Košev stadium, one of our young fans almost lost his leg due to a firecracker, and such events, as well as last night's, simply have no place in sports and deserve all condemnation.

At the end of the conversation for the club's website, Ilievski called for unity among the fans.

- Football Club Sarajevo will always strive to listen to its fans, and this has been evident in recent days. We want to build a strong Sarajevo together, and at this moment, the team needs unconditional support, and we hope that the fans will come in large numbers on Saturday for the derby and cheer on the guys for all 90 minutes - concluded Ilievski.