The two most outstanding players of the Bosnia-Herzegovina national team, Edin Dzeko and Miralem Pjanic, have spoken out against the decision of the Bosnian Football Federation to play a friendly against Russia in Saint Petersburg in November.
“I am against that game being played. I am always alone for peace. I sympathize with the people of Ukraine in these difficult times for them,” the captain of the national team, Edin Dzeko, told the portal. Bosnian Klix news agency.
He added that he unfortunately does not decide who the team will play with. The match should be contested on November 19 in Russia.
“It’s not a good decision. I was speechless when I found out,” midfielder Miralem Pjanic said.
“The (federation) leaders know my position. They called, asked what I thought about the match. I said what I thought, and then I was surprised by a different decision. It’s not a good decision. I’m speechless. When the national team starts to play well, something always goes wrong,” said Pjanic.
Some Bosnian media say that Pjanic and Dzeko plan not to play that game.
The decision of the football federation has provoked numerous reactions of indignation in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The fans have called for a boycott of the match and the professional footballers’ union has called for the dismissal of the members of the federation who have made the decision to play that match.
A former Bosnian national team captain, Vlatko Glavas, said the decision was political, “aimed at harming Bosnia-Herzegovina.”
He explained that such a situation is due to the fact that most of the members of the Bosnian football federation are from nationalist formations, such as the Bosnian Serb SNSD and the Croatian HDZ.