A real storm is currently taking place in Serbian water polo; as many as eleven national team players have decided to draw the line.
Captain Nikola Jakšić, together with Filipović, Mandić, the Rašović brothers, Ranđelović, Lazić, Drašović, Vico, Dedović, and the younger Jakšić, will no longer play for the national team as long as Slobodan Soro is at the head of the federation.
They expressed their position through a joint statement on Instagram.
-Dear all,
As long-time national team members, current European and triple Olympic champions, we believe it is necessary to speak out regarding the latest events in our Federation.
The new president of the Federation, Slobodan Soro, has on several occasions through his statements attempted to discredit and belittle all our successes of the past few years. Our gold medals were not in the least a reflection of momentary inspiration, as Slobodan Soro states, but rather years of great sacrifice, training, togetherness, and struggle.
Also, we would like to remind the public that several players from the current national team squad have already been exposed to unsportsmanlike moves by Slobodan Soro and his team of people at VK Novi Beograd, from training bans, expulsion from the club, not being allowed to play for the national team, etc. We believe that even then, all those actions were taken to harm our national team, our togetherness, and to prevent the further progress of Serbian representative water polo.
Our team, as the most decorated national team in Serbia, deserves a Federation president worthy of everything we have fought for all these years, someone who will defend our interests, advocate for us, value everything won, and encourage the further winning of trophies. We are proud of everything we have achieved with the Serbian cap – every match, every victory, but also every difficult moment that made us stronger as a team. As the current European and triple Olympic champions, we believe that through our results we have clearly shown who we are and what we represent.
The last ten years of water polo in Serbia undoubtedly represent one of the most decorated periods in the history of our sport. Throughout our entire careers, we have been guided by the principles of respect, dignity, and fair play. We showed that respect toward everyone, including Slobodan Soro, today’s president of the Federation, even during the period when he competed for the national team of Brazil and played against Serbia in the biggest competitions. We are witnesses that even then he invested maximum efforts to stop the path of the Serbian national team toward the greatest successes, but also that he did not succeed in that – which is confirmed by the results we achieved together to the joy of our entire nation.
After much thought and mutual discussions, we have made a unanimous decision to withdraw from playing for the Serbian water polo national team as long as Slobodan Soro and his team of people are at its head.
This decision was very difficult, because playing for the national team has always represented the highest honor and privilege for us and the dream of every young athlete. Nevertheless, we believe it is necessary for us personally to raise our voices against all those who want to discredit and destroy the hard-earned successes of the water polo national team for the sake of their personal interests. Such persons must not be at the head of the most decorated national team in Serbia!
We appeal for the public support of former and current athletes, people from the world of water polo, and all those who care that the water polo federation does not fall into the hands of those who, out of their personal dissatisfaction and whim, want to devalue the past and destroy the future of our most decorated sport.
Players of the Serbian national team:
Captain Nikola Jakšić, Radoslav Filipović, Dušan Mandić, Strahinja Rašović, Sava Ranđelović, Đorđe Lazić, Radomir Drašović, Nemanja Vico, Nikola Dedović, Petar Jakšić, Viktor Rašović – stands in the open letter.
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Source: Kurir; Photo: ATA Images