Future - Ilarion, is it still played today: with the police, new balls, and with fans?

A new friendly match between Buducnost and third-league team Ilarion will be played today at 13 pm at the Podgorica club's Camp at the Old Airport.

Unlike yesterday's match, which was interrupted in the 20th minute after about 30 Buducnost fans invaded, today's match will be played with the police present, which should prevent any new attempt by fans to interrupt the match due to an open "war" with the club's management.

Of course, they will also be playing with new balls, as the Buducnost fans took away all seven that were used in the opening 20 minutes of yesterday's match ("we'll need them for the match," one of the fans shouted).

Will Buducnost president Boris Spalević invoice the fans for the balls taken away - will he perhaps report the theft - the much more important question is why Buducnost management did not report yesterday's match to the police.

Articles 90 and 93 of the Law on Sports oblige that the holding of any public event - a match that is open to the public - must be reported to the police, and a similar provision can be found in the Law on Public Gatherings. Although in the practice of Montenegrin sports, few people report the holding of friendly matches, especially if the rival is a third-league team, FK Budućnost made a serious omission, given the circumstances and the conflict that the club's leaders have had with the fans since the first day of their mandate.

Fans could have interrupted training, they have done so many times in recent years, but a match that is open to the public and where the presence of the public is expected, had to be reported to the police. Why not, is a question for Budućnost CEO Predrag Kažić.

Yesterday, after the incident, the leaders of Budućnost called the police, who were on their way to the Old Airport. It was even suggested to coach Miodrag Božović to wait for the arrival of law enforcement agencies so that the match could continue, but the players had already cooled down - it was assessed that it would be wiser to play a new match on Sunday.

Fans have been at war with the administration for a long time, and the conflict was particularly heated with the arrival of Deputy Mayor Boris Spalević, who was subjected to derogatory chants last night in front of the Municipality building, accompanied by smoke bombs and cannon fire.

What does the next period bring?

It is clear that the club's leaders will rely on an adequate response from the police (not so long ago, they were often absent, so there was an incident on April 27, 2024, when fans were allowed into the locker room after the game and kept their word there) - the same police that they only called yesterday when the incident occurred.

It is also clear that fans can use more sophisticated and "creative" methods of action - about 15 years ago, when they were against the then president Tomislav Čelebić, they emptied the grandstand of the stadium under Gorica by throwing in about 50 kilograms of fish, which were assumed to be lake perch, the night before the match. The stench was so unbearable that the match was only watched from the eastern stand.

In any case, it will hardly be peaceful, especially at a time when Buducnost is experiencing its most difficult days in terms of results.