September 29 – The Football Federation of Serbia (FSS) has sacked Referee Commission chairman Dejan Filipović following protests by several clubs over referee appointments for Serbian Super Liga matches. In addition to Filipovic, two members of the commission were removed, their places filled by four new members.
The decision to dismiss Filipović came just days after Srđan Jovanović was appointed as the referee for the eternal derby between Partizan and Red Star Belgrade (Crvena Zvezda), and Red Star announced that they would not play the match if the referee was not replaced.
In the end, the derby, along with all SuperLiga matches in the round, was postponed due to the declared day of mourning following the events in Northern Kosovo. On Sunday, one Kosovo policeman and four Serbs were killed in a shootout between Kosovo police and an armed group of ethnic Serbs in the village of Banska, northern Kosovo.
It is not yet clear when the game between Partizan and Red Star Belgrade will be played and who will referee the game.
The protests against the referees commission in Serbia had been mounting. Before the current dissatisfaction, the sports director of Partizan, Ivica Kralj, had also demanded the resignation of the chairman of the refereeing commission. Another Serbian club, Radnicki Nis, has also repeatedly expressed its disagreement with the commission’s work.
Filipović will be replaced by Dejan Santrac, FSS announced. Milan Jeremić, Aleksandar Vasić, Boško Jovanetić and Vladimir Nedeljković will be the new members of the body.
The commission starts work immediately, and they have until today to send a list of international referees to UEFA, and then appoint the referees for the 10th round of the Super Liga.
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, at moc.l1731714065labto1731714065ofdlr1731714065owedi1731714065sni@o1731714065fni1731714065