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Serbian Water Polo in Crisis After Federation Chief 'Belittles' Players ...
Serbian players celebrate after winning the European Aquatics Men’s Water Polo Championship final match between Serbia and Hungary in Belgrade, January 2026. Photo: EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC. Criticism from Serbia’s new Water Polo Federation of the national men’s team, the current Olympic and European champions, has sparked a crisis in the sport, which is highly popular in the country. Members of the national men’s team announced on Thursday that they will withdraw from the team as long as the recently elected president of the Water Polo Federation of Serbia, Slobodan Soro, remains in charge. Earlier this week, head coach Uros Stevanovic also resigned over the same dispute. The players said Soro had “on several occasions, through his statements, attempted to discredit and belittle” the achievements of the national team. “Our gold medals were by no means the result of momentary inspiration, as Slobodan Soro claims, but rather years of great sacrifice, training, unity, and struggle,” the players wrote on Instagram. Soro, who was elected president of the Water Polo Federation on April 29, told Serbia’s public broadcaster RTS on Sunday that Serbia now has a national team “that is not at the same level as in previous years”. He added that the men’s team’s Olympic and European gold medals were “more a matter of temporary inspiration than proof of great quality”. Following those remarks, the players announced their withdrawal. “After much consideration and mutual discussions, we unanimously decided to withdraw from playing for the Serbian national water polo team as long as Slobodan Soro and his team remain at its helm,” they wrote. The players also claimed that some team members had not been treated well by Soro and his associates at the Novi Beograd water polo club, founded by former player and Belgrade Mayor Aleksandar Sapic. Soro previously served as the club’s director. According to the website Vaterpolo vesti, Soro was backed for the federation presidency by Sapic. The letter was signed by 11 players: Nikola Jaksic, Radoslav Filipovic, Dusan Mandic, Strahinja Rasovic, Sava Randjelovic, Djordje Lazic, Radomir Drasovic, Nemanja Vico, Nikola Dedovic, Petar Jaksic and Viktor Rasovic. Coach Stevanovic resigned on Monday, saying the new federation president had used “language unbecoming of the current Olympic and European champions. Language aimed at a qualitative and professional discrediting of the Serbian national team, for reasons I do not understand”. The Water Polo ...
Olympic water polo resignations cite lack of respect, belittling ...
Serbia’s European gold medal-winning set-up quit, saying federations chief has shown a lack of respect for their efforts.Serbia’s men’s Olympic water polo head coach resigned, and 11 members of its European gold medal-winning squad have boycotted the team over comments by the newly appointed federation chief, the sport’s body has confirmed.The crisis comes after Serbia, among the world’s leading water polo nations and gold medal winners at Paris 2024, failed to qualify for July’s World Cup finals in Sydney.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Holders Flamengo see Copa Libertadores match abandoned amid crowd troublelist 2 of 4Miami host committee assured ICE will not be at World Cup gameslist 3 of 4Trump says he would not pay $1,000 to watch US at World Cuplist 4 of 4Barcelona vs Real Madrid: All to know about El Clasicoend of listIn an open letter on Friday, the players said new federation President Slobodan Soro had “repeatedly sought through his statements to discredit and belittle” the team’s achievements.Soro had earlier said the European championship win in January was the result of “momentary inspiration” and said the national team was no longer at its previous level.The remarks sparked anger and prompted the resignation of coach Uros Stevanovic and a player boycott.“We unanimously decided to withdraw from Serbia’s national team as long as Slobodan Soro and his team remain in charge,” the players said in an open letter.“Our gold medals,” they added, “were not the product of momentary inspiration”, but “of years of great sacrifice”.The federation published the letter on its website, while stressing that it was signed by “seven former and four current” national team players.The federation also said it “does not wish to take part in what a perfectly normal process within a sports body has turned into”.Soro, a former goalkeeper, was appointed federation president on April 29 and made the controversial remarks immediately after his election.He has not yet commented on the players’ boycott. Serbia’s European title came in Belgrade at the start of this year to follow their Olympic success.
11 golden water polo players left the Serbian national team
Due to the resignation of the coach of the Serbian water polo national team, Uroš Stevanović, as many as 11 water polo players left the national team.
Rebellion of Serbian water polo players: 11 of them will not play for ...
After the resignation of coach Uroš Stevanović, 11 trophy-winning water polo players left the Serbian national team. The press release of the 11 players who won gold medals at the Olympic Games in Paris and the European Championship in Belgrade is transmitted in its entirety.
