UEFA removes 2 soccer officials linked to criminal cases

By: Graham Dunbar, The Associated Press Posted: 6:13 AM CDT Friday, Mar. 26, 2021 Last Modified: 8:38 AM CDT Friday, Mar. 26, 2021

Advertise with us

GENEVA - A Croatian soccer official sentenced to prison in a corruption case linked to a Luka Modric transfer was removed from a committee overseeing the European Championship, UEFA said Friday.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

GENEVA - A Croatian soccer official sentenced to prison in a corruption case linked to a Luka Modric transfer was removed from a committee overseeing the European Championship, UEFA said Friday.

Read unlimited articles for free today:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/03/2021 (1990 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

GENEVA – A Croatian soccer official sentenced to prison in a corruption case linked to a Luka Modric transfer was removed from a committee overseeing the European Championship, UEFA said Friday.

Damir Vrbanovic lost an appeal last week against his conviction and a three-year sentence in a ruling by the supreme court of Croatia.

Vrbanovic, a former executive at Dinamo Zagreb and the Croatia soccer federation, had been reappointed by UEFA to its National Team Competitions Committee in 2019 while awaiting his appeal against the conviction the previous year.

FILE - In this Thursday, March 11, 2021 file photo Dinamo Zagreb's manager Zoran Mamic gestures during the Europa League round of 16, first leg, soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Dinamo Zagreb at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England. According to a statement late Monday March 15, 2021, Mamic has resigned after the Croatian supreme court confirmed his nearly five-year prison sentence for tax evasion and fraud, just days before a Europa League match against Tottenham.(AP photo/Alastair Grant, Pool, File)

UEFA also removed former Serbia soccer president Slavisa Kozeka from its committee overseeing the 55 European member federations.

Kozeka resigned as head of Serbian soccer on Monday after being linked to a fan group with alleged ties to organized crime.

“They are no longer members of their respective UEFA standing committees,” the European soccer body said Friday of Vrbanovic and Kozeka.

In the Croatian case, the conviction was also upheld for Dinamo Zagreb coach Zoran Mamic, who resigned two days before his team beat Tottenham last week to reach the Europa League quarterfinals.

The case related to millions of dollars embezzled from transfers abroad of Dinamo players, including Modric to Tottenham in 2008 and Dejan Lovren to Lyon in 2010. Both players testified in court in 2018 and had been accused of perjury.

The embezzlement trial in Croatia led to verdicts one week ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Soccer federation vice-president Zdravko Mamic fled to Bosnia-Herzegovina before being sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison.

Mamic was a close ally of federation president Davor Šuker, the former Dinamo and Real Madrid forward who has been a member of UEFA’s executive committee since 2015.

Despite the turmoil, Modric captained a Croatia team with Lovren in defence to the World Cup final, losing 4-2 against France. Modric was voted FIFA best player in the world for 2018.

FILE - In this Friday, March 31, 2017 file photo, President of Serbia's Football Association Slavisa Kokeza speaks during a news conference in Stara Pazova, near Belgrade, Serbia. Police have taken in the president of the Serbian Football Association for questioning in connection to recent arrests of several members of soccer fan groups accused of murder, kidnapping and drug trafficking. Serbian media said Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021, Slavisa Kokeza will be quizzed over his links to Partizan Belgrade supporter group leaders who were detained earlier this month in what officials say is a major crackdown against organized crime.(AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)

Vrbanovic made headlines at the tournament when, as the convicted director general of Croatia’s soccer body, he sat in the VIP section at the quarterfinals game against Russia. In the same row of seats were then-Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev and Croatia’s then-president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic.

FIFA later said there was no restriction on Vrbanovic because his conviction was not final while under appeal. UEFA said in 2018 it was awaiting developments in the case before taking action.

As a former Dinamo executive, Vrbanovic was a founding board member in 2008 of the European Club Association.

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports