Does Abdić's dismissal open Pandora's box?

The resignation of the president of the Budućnost Football Club Boris Spalevic presented to the long-time doctor of the first team of the "blues" Nermin Abdić, with all the political connotations that the opposition attributes to this decision, it could open Pandora's box - how is health care legally regulated in Montenegrin sports?

Spalević is the deputy mayor of the capital and came to that position as a candidate of the ruling Democrats, while Abdić is a member of the Democratic Party of Socialists in the state parliament.

The need for medicine in modern football, and sports in general, is growing at lightning speed - the reason is the increasing physical demands and the strenuous rhythm of matches and competitions - more frequent, more severe injuries. Health care has therefore long become key to prevention, faster recovery, and in general, long-term preservation of athletes' health.

The fact that this area is quite undefined in Montenegrin sports (one of the striking cases: the Institute of Sports Medicine has not yet started operating five and a half years after its establishment) runs counter to the growing and increasing need, and a stronger connection, between sports and medicine.

But is that the topic now?

On Saturday, on the day of the Podgorica team's match against Bokelj (0:1, an unpleasant defeat), Spalević dismissed Nermin Abdić due to an "incorrect" contract - as he announced, he acted on the order of the Labor Inspectorate, which clearly stated that "Mr. Abdić is employed at the Clinical Center of Montenegro full-time, while at the same time he had a contract with FK Budućnost for temporary or occasional work for the entire year - which is directly contrary to the law, which allows a maximum of 120 days of such engagement, exclusively for unemployed persons registered with the Employment Service."

Officially, Abdić was separated from the Buducnost bench due to a contract - he already has a full-time contract at the Clinical Center of Montenegro.

Such a decision, wrapped in legalese, raises the question of what (legal) basis other doctors in Montenegrin sports are tied to clubs and national teams - all those who "occasionally" or "temporarily" provide medical services necessary for the functioning of a football or sports team.

The Rules on Work Permits for Officials of the Football Association of Montenegro, in Article 9, states that the club "is obliged to submit to the Commission for Issuing Licenses for Officials of the FSCG: personal data of the person for whom a license is requested; proof of Montenegrin citizenship; diploma - proof of professional education; proof of completed professional exam or a license issued by the competent medical chamber".

There is no mention, therefore, of the type of contract that caused Abdić to "fall".

More serious sports teams - not only those of the stature of Real and Barcelona, ​​but many, many others - have full-time professional doctors and entire medical teams, which include doctors specializing in sports medicine, physiotherapists, fitness experts and other medical professionals who take care of the players' health throughout the season.

There is no professional doctor in Montenegrin sports, or we have no information that there is one - someone who is permanently employed by a club or association.

If Abdić paid for a contract that is "directly contrary to the law", the question arises as to what contracts are his colleagues who provide medical services to other clubs and national teams bound by?

All of them, just like Abdić, have work contracts with other institutions: whether the Clinical Center, general hospitals, private health institutions.

The doctor at FK Sutjeska, a club that requires a fairly similar number of working days when hiring as FK Budućnost, is Dr. Marko Mitrović, former president of that club, former director of the General Hospital in Nikšić, and now employed at that institution as a full-time ENT specialist.

The long-time doctor of the Montenegrin national football team is Dr. Ilija Ašanin, a specialist in general surgery, also employed at the General Hospital in Nikšić.

The doctor of the Basketball Club Budućnost is Dr. Bojan Milacic, a general and thoracic surgeon, as can be found on the internet - works, or worked, at the "Kodra" hospital in Podgorica.

The doctor of the Dečić Football Club is Dr. Ersan Basovic, specialist in gynecology and obstetrics, Mornara Dr. Fahredin Talji, employed at the General Hospital in Bar.

And so on...

What kind of contracts are all the other doctors in Montenegrin sports bound to for their clubs or Montenegrin national teams - employed in other collectives, as is the case with the fired Abdić and the Clinical Center?

If the contract he had with FK Budućnost is against the law - what kind of contract did his successor on the Buducnost bench get? As you could hear, he is a specialist Dr. Aleksandar Petricic, permanently employed at the Clinical Center of Montenegro in the same Orthopedics Department as Abdić.

If he received the same contract as Dr. Abdić, Petričić would have to be replaced after a few months - when he reaches a certain number of days prescribed in the engagement.

If he received, for example, a contract for work, or a contract for additional work, which - it is assumed - all other Montenegrin sports doctors are bound by - the question is why Spalević did not offer Abdić such a contract and so elegantly avoid all political connotations related to this dismissal, which the opposition loudly attributes to him.

And, given that, according to Spalević, the Labor Inspectorate determined that the specific employment relationship was in violation of the law - should FK Budućnost, as his long-standing employer, bear any legal or other consequences due to such a contract, in addition to Dr. Nermin Abdić?

There are many questions, and the fact that Abdić's successor, Dr. Aleksandar Petričić, was 39th on the list of the "Europe Now - Democrats" coalition ahead of last year's city elections in Podgorica - also does not necessarily mean anything.

However, Spalević's statement regarding Abdić's dismissal, carried out on the day of the match with Kotor, lacks a substantive and realistic, not just a "legal" explanation. Instead, the accusations that the Podgorica club's former doctor paid the guild for a "wrong" party card will not be silenced so quickly.

Or, in an undefined system, all doctors who perform temporary or occasional services in Montenegrin sports, while employed full-time in other clinics, should be dismissed.