Croatia’s President Says Nationalism Keeping Him Away from Stadiums

Croatia’s President Ivo Josipović was once again absent from the stands when Croatia thumped Azerbaijan in a EURO 2016 qualifier in Osijek last night, continuing a trend which has seen him avoid attending Croatia’s home matches, despite being an avid fan…

When explaining his absence, Croatia’s top ranking official said that being present in the stands was not ‘sending the right message’.
“Going to a game where there is a risk of nationalism, racism and incidents, the President would be sending out the wrong message,” Josipović said, before sending a message to current FA boss Davor Šuker.

“I really love and respect our national football team and I am happy when they win, and I will be more than happy to attend matches once Mr.Šuker and the Croatian Football Federation fulfils their promise they made to me in sorting out the organisation and making it comfortable for everyone to come to the stadiums”.

Josipović then went on to say that he would not be attending any matches organised by sports organisations which do not have transparency in their finances and management.