Although around 50 fans attended yesterday's abandoned match between Buducnost and Ilarion,, who were in the stands even before the arrival of the "barbarians", Budućnost executive director Predrag Kažić says that it was a closed-door match, and that there was no legal obligation.
Reacting to the text "The Future - Ilarion: Is it still played today: with the police, new balls, and with fans?", which was published this morning on the "Vijesti" portal, Kažić states that the event - "did not represent a sporting event open to the public within the meaning of Article 90 of the Sports Law, and therefore there was no legal obligation to report the event to the police"
"First of all, we emphasize that the specific match was of a friendly nature, closed, and was not open to the public. The match was held within the FK Budućnost camp, in an area owned by the Club, without a public invitation, without ticket sales, and without advertising the event as a public sports event. Accordingly, the aforementioned event did not represent a sports event open to the public within the meaning of Article 90 of the Sports Law, and therefore there was no legal obligation to report the event to the police. The obligations to report and take special security measures under Articles 91 and 93 of the Sports Law apply exclusively to sports events organized as public events, which was not the case in this case. A contrary interpretation would mean that every training session held within any club must be reported to the police, which is not the meaning of the aforementioned norms," Kažić stated.
After 20 minutes of play, about 30 "barbarians" stormed onto the field with torches, shouted insults at the club's management, picked up the balls, and stopped the game.
"Despite the fact that it was a closed sporting event, FK Buducnost acted responsibly and in accordance with the best sporting and organizational practice, and during the match: ensured the presence of an ambulance and medical team; engaged a licensed entity for the security of persons and property; took all reasonable measures to protect the participants and the Club's property; We particularly emphasize that immediately after the incident, namely; the unauthorized entry of about thirty unidentified persons into the camp area, the event was reported to the Police Department without delay, and criminal charges were filed against the unidentified persons. In doing so, the Club acted fully in accordance with the law and its obligations, which is not stated at all in the disputed text. FK Buducnost unequivocally distances itself from and most strongly condemns any violent, improper and illegal behavior, especially when it comes from unidentified persons who did not have authorization or the right to access a closed sporting event."
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"Such actions do not represent fan support, sports enthusiasm or belonging to a sports environment, but rather a demonstration of a complete lack of understanding of the basic rules of conduct in modern society. We particularly consider unacceptable attempts to relativize or indirectly justify such behavior in public space, and especially in the media, by shifting responsibility to the sports collective, which, on the contrary, acted legally, responsibly and involved the competent authorities in a timely manner. We hope that sport will return to what it belongs to - play, work, respect, and not incidents and sensationalism." P S.
As for the stolen items, i.e. the balls, we have intervened there as well by filing a report for the theft of items. We hope that we will all return our "balls" to the football field, Kažić concluded.
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