Management Board of FK Željezničar: We Continue the Legal Battle, Will Appeal to the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Football club Željezničar has been left without participation in European competitions, after the Commission of the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina did not grant them a license.

This has caused an uproar in the team from Grbavica, and an emergency session of the Management Board was held in the Blue Salon, which was also attended by members of the Supervisory Board.

As announced from the Blue camp, during today's day, Football club Željezničar received via email the Decision of the Second Instance Commission for Club Licensing rejecting the appeal against the previous Decision, and that they will not be issued a license to participate in European competitions for the 2019/2020 season.

The Management Board made two conclusions: 1. FK Željezničar will continue the legal battle and file an appeal to the Executive Board of the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and then, if necessary, to UEFA, all with the aim of protecting the interests of the Club; this does not exclude local lawsuits against responsible persons in the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the process so far; 2. At the next session of the Assembly of FK Željezničar, which will be held on June 15, the Management Board will present to the members of the Assembly a report on work for the period from January 1, 2019, since when the smooth operation and functioning of the Club, as well as financial stability and achieved sports results, have been ensured. On the other hand, despite obvious obstructions and meddling that we clearly could not influence, the Management Board will offer its mandates at disposal.

Football club Željezničar particularly expresses concern about the conduct of the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which, without official notification from the Second Instance Commission in the licensing process, informed future potential clubs about their participation a day earlier, which adds an additional stain to the Decision and the manner in which it was handled.

Finally, there are identical cases where UEFA made decisions in favor of clubs like Željezničar even if a delay of several days occurred, if viewed that way, because good faith was considered and the mentioned debt was fully settled.

We would not like to prejudge what the decision of the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina or especially UEFA will be at the end of the process, but we will certainly seek to increase the regularity of the competition and establish responsibilities.