Union of Professional Footballers calls on FA BiH to protect Sloboda players

The Union of Professional Footballers of BiH issued a statement today due to constant and months-long attacks by the leaders of FK Sloboda on their members, the Union stated.

- This particularly refers to the recent address at the press conference on May 12, which not only aimed to discredit the public and label former players, our members (Ivan Kostić, Damir Mehidić, Ivan Fatić and Miljan Govedarica) as culprits for the negative response of the first-instance licensing commission of the N/FSBiH, but also served as a means of pressure on the bodies and organs of the N/FSBiH to make a decision in the second-instance licensing procedure contrary to the N/FSBiH Club Licensing Regulations.

The legal representatives of the Union of Professional Footballers of BiH, i.e., footballers Ivan Kostić, Damir Mehidić, Ivan Fatić and Miljan Govedarica, as well as all other players who have sought legal assistance, have timely informed the N/FSBiH Licensing Administration of the obligations that clubs had as of December 31 last year towards their employees, footballers, arising from mutual contractual obligations.

Consequently, based on audit reports and the legal opinion of those responsible in the Licensing Administration, the First-Instance Club Licensing Commission of the N/FSBiH made a decision denying a license to compete in the BiH Premier League to FK Sloboda Tuzla, NK Čelik Zenica and FK Olimpic Sarajevo. FK Sloboda, i.e., its leaders, are attempting in various ways, the least legal and much more manipulative and lobbying, to prejudge the final decision of the second-instance club licensing commission.

The president of FK Sloboda, Senad Mujkanović, stated at the press conference that they have filed a lawsuit for defamation and material damages against the four named players and further emphasized that “if we do not get the license, we will sue the Association, because no one will mess with Sloboda.” Mujkanović forgets that the Association is not and cannot be responsible for the debts incurred by his club as of December 31 last year, and if anyone is messing with Sloboda, it is the current management that does not want to settle the established debts.

In this way, an attempt is being made to create a false perception of the mutual obligations of the players and the club, i.e., to highlight that a court proceeding is underway and that, on that basis, obligations towards the players are suspended until its conclusion. Even if the mentioned lawsuits were filed by December 31, 2016 (which they were not), lawsuits for defamation and damages cannot affect the fact of the existence of debt on that date arising from a valid contract, which every freshman at the faculty of law knows and which cannot go unnoticed by the Licensing Administration. Therefore, the possible existence of lawsuits for defamation and damages (which are certainly unfounded) are not in a causal relationship with the debt arising from the contractual relations between the club and the footballers.

For the record, Article 99, Paragraph 3 of the Club Licensing Regulations for participation in the BiH Premier League competition from November 2016 defines: If the license provider considers that the license applicant has initiated legal proceedings solely to dispute its outstanding debts (as a way to create the situation described in point C) and “buy time,” this may result in the license provider seeking additional evidence to ensure that it is an “obviously well-founded dispute.” From the previous media reports of the license applicant, it is clear that these are “obviously unfounded disputes” with the clear goal of “buying time,” which the Association must not allow.

Also, with the help of destructive forces, i.e., individuals in the N/FSBiH who, for personal interest, want to throw away all the good that has been done so far through the painstaking work of the President of the Association and his associates, an attempt is being made to find a so-called “justification” to “revoke” the status of professional footballers for the named players, and consequently their status as club employees.

For the record, the Club Licensing Regulations clearly stipulate in Article 95 that:
The term “amateur and non-amateur players” includes the following persons:

All amateur and non-amateur players in accordance with the current FIFA “Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players,” as well as in accordance with the “Regulations on Registration, Status and Transfer of Players of the N/FS BiH,” while the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players in Article 2 stipulate that a professional is a player who has a written contract with a club and whose earnings exceed the costs he incurs in exchange for his football activities. All other players are considered amateurs. Given that all four of our members had contracts with Sloboda worth tens of thousands of KM, it is clear that each of them unquestionably meets the condition of a professional under the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players.

We call on those responsible in the N/FSBiH, primarily the Licensing Administration headed by Nijaz Merdanović, and then the second-instance club licensing commission of the N/FSBiH, to remain consistent in the application and interpretation of existing legal acts, i.e., the Licensing Regulations, and not to succumb to the pressure of those who see the Association as a racketeer, rather than a partner in building a better football everyday life. Also, we are confident that the Association, as it has largely done during the licensing procedure so far, will protect the elementary human right of every person to be adequately paid for their work, and that legally valid contracts signed between clubs and players will be consistently respected - the statement said.