At the final tournament of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup, which starts in Sarajevo, there was no place for the best local referee, Dragan Porobić, who is delegated for Euroleague matches. According to those making decisions in Bosnia and Herzegovina basketball, he is not considered good enough to be included on the list of referees who will officiate the matches for the valuable trophies in the Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup.
This incident marks a new scandal orchestrated by Jadranko Lašetović, the competition commissioner, who, against all agreements and regulations, makes decisions on who can and who cannot officiate basketball justice on the court.
Aleksandar Đurđević, President of the Basketball Federation of Republika Srpska, says that the absence of Dragan Porobić from the list of referees is yet another proof of Jadranko Lašetović’s arbitrariness.
“When you have the final tournament of a country’s cup, regardless of everything, it is normal for the best referees to officiate on the court, and Dragan Porobić is one of the best, if not the best local referee. He had to be on the list of referees, and his absence is a decision that has no justification. I believe that nothing stated in the acts of the Basketball Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding equality has been respected. The Basketball Federation of Republika Srpska is an equal member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Basketball Federation, yet only one of our referees has been delegated for the final tournament of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup. We are dissatisfied with such a decision, mostly because Republika Srpska has excellent referees who officiate the highest-ranking European basketball competitions. This is just a continuation of the bad relationship the Basketball Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and those in leading positions, have towards the Basketball Federation of Republika Srpska and everything coming from Republika Srpska,” states Aleksandar Đurđević, President of the Basketball Federation of Republika Srpska.
The competition commissioner of the Basketball Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been making decisions detrimental to the Basketball Federation of Republika Srpska and clubs coming from Republika Srpska for some time. Recently, the team from Mladost Mrkonjić Grad paid the price.
“We had an opportunity, in the previous period, to see that the basketball players from Mladost Mrkonjić Grad had their match against KK Spars from Sarajevo canceled on the day of the match, a few hours before its start, via email. This is contrary to all regulations, and that match should have been registered with an official result in favor of the Mladost team. However, this did not happen, and the competition commissioner ignored all the acts of the Basketball Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina on that occasion,” says Đurđević.
The Basketball Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and those in leading positions, have long been making moves detrimental to basketball in Republika Srpska, and the impression is that many of their actions are politically motivated, which has no place in sports.
“Since I took the position of President of the Basketball Federation of Republika Srpska, for these three years, we have constantly had problems with the Basketball Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Respect for authority is not observed, equal representation is not respected, and often the Basketball Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and colleagues from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, try to harm clubs from Republika Srpska. It seems to me that their biggest thorn is KK Igokea, which is the best basketball club in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Various means are attempted to belittle success, but also to prevent the achievement of sports results on the court in every possible way. Let’s just remember the scandalous finale of the Bosnia and Herzegovina championship in Široki Brijeg and similar events. There is definitely a continuity of bad attitude towards everything coming from Republika Srpska, but when we see what is happening in Bosnia and Herzegovina, then it is clear that one follows the other,” added Đurđević.
Source: RTRS
