Serbia Water Polo Coach Resigns and Players Boycott National Team

Serbia’s men’s Olympic water polo head coach has resigned and 11 members of the European gold medal-winning squad have boycotted the national team, the sport’s governing body has confirmed. The move comes after the country failed to qualify for the World Cup finals scheduled for July in Sydney.

Serbia is among the leading water polo nations, having secured gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics and the European championship held in Belgrade at the start of this year.

In an open letter published on Friday, the players said the new federation president had repeatedly sought through his statements to discredit and belittle the team’s achievements. The president had described the European championship win in January as the result of momentary inspiration and said the national team was no longer at its previous level.

The remarks prompted the resignation of the head coach and the player boycott.

The players stated they had unanimously decided to withdraw from Serbia’s national team as long as the president and his team remain in charge. >"We unanimously decided to withdraw from Serbia’s national team as long as Slobodan Soro and his team remain in charge. " — Players (Al Jazeera) The federation published the letter on its website.

It noted that the letter was signed by seven former and four current national team players. The federation said it does not wish to take part in what a perfectly normal process within a sports body has turned into. The president, a former goalkeeper, was appointed on April 29 and made the comments immediately after his election.

He has not yet commented on the players’ boycott.