In March 1936, thanks to operational data obtained in an action carried out in Zagreb that led to the disclosure of a report by the Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia for Montenegro, police authorities carried out a "break-in" into the Montenegrin communist organization.
By the end of April, more than 250 communists and their associates were arrested in the territory of the Zeta Banovina, who were taken to the infamous "Termoterapija" prison in Rijeka dubrovačka.
"At first we didn't know if it was a precautionary arrest or a major break-in. When the arrests began to spread to the party cadres in Montenegro, and especially when they started escorting us to Dubrovnik, we realized that it was a major break-in in the party," he wrote. Milan Raičević, who was himself arrested.
Besides him, the president of Buducnost Grujo Petrovic, then Sergije Stanić, and former or current players and board members Vido Uskokovic, Veljko V. Petrovic, Veljko Zeković, Kico Scepovic, Đorđije Premović, Mihailo Popovic, Spaso Boljevic, Savo Mrenovic, Spiro Mugoš... The days of Buducnost were numbered. The circle was closing in. The authorities at least made an effort to respect the semblance of legality: in the second half of April 1936, the head of the Podgorica district officially banned the work of Buducnost and its branch Slavija. Shortly after, Lovćen was disbanded in a similar way in Cetinje. The blow to workers' sports was sharp and complete.
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The banning decisions also provided for the possibility of appeal, first to the Ban's administration, and then to the Ministry of Physical Education. Budućnost, Lovćen and Slavija exercised their legal right and appealed within the prescribed period, but their fate was sealed. It did not help that on June 26, 1936, at Belvedere, near Cetinje, one of the demands of a protest rally organized by communists and federalists - drowned in blood - was to request permission to "legally work in workers', peasants', sports, cultural and economic societies... as well as the sports clubs Lovćen in Cetinje and Budućnost in Podgorica".
The last blow was made by the banned labor unions at the session of the Cetinje Football Sub-Association assembly on October 11, 1936, "the most turbulent ever held," according to a reporter from Slobodna misli. Arsenija SimovićThe police tried to ban representatives of Buducnost from participating, Vuk Vučinić, and Lovćen, Pek Dapčević, but their voices were heard at the rally. How else. The blade of criticism was directed at the president of the CNP Niko Bokan, a long-time member of the Montenegrin board, who is suspected of having done nothing to prevent the ban from occurring, and of not having helped the clubs' appeals be upheld.
"There was a commotion in the hall when the candidate of law Petar Dragicevic attacked Mr. Bokan, who wrote a letter to Mr. Krnjajski, a former member of the Alliance, before the assembly.” Slobodna misao also published the contents of that letter.
"Dear Kosto, I spoke with Filip. He approved the election of the president. I will come to you today. Please call Mr. Vinek (Vladimir, the head of the Cetinje police) to arrange with him to prevent this scoundrel from taking any action. If it is impossible for him to do so directly, let him submit a proposal in an official document, as the head of the Podgorica district did, and we will arrange it at the first session after the assembly."
The session was soon adjourned. The CNP president tried to wash his hands of it in a Pilate-like manner on the pages of Slobodna misli, claiming that by "poor people" he meant "those who cause trouble" at football matches, with whom the mayor of Podgorica's district had dealt, and that he was not to blame "for the fact that our sport has been partly poisoned by political friction and has begun to lose its basic meaning and significance."
In the end, it was irrelevant whose side the truth and justice were on - Bokan remained at the top of the Cetinje Football Sub-Association, while Budućnost, Lovćen and Slavia were denied further action. The players of Budućnost dispersed. Some played for Nikšić's Hercegovac (Arso Markovic, Vlado Božović, Cazim Maljevic) and Cetinje Sloga (Arso Markovic, Vlado Božović, Asim Djurdjevic), Doda Tahiri has strengthened the Montenegrin, Vojo Mugoša participated in the qualifications for the federal league with Balšić, while Pavle Vujovic Jablan became a member of the Belgrade Unity, where he would be joined by Ibrahim MethadzovicSome of them will gather again in Montenegro, the successor to Buducnost...
(From the monograph “Proud Past, One Future”, which will be on sale soon)
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