Robert Jarni sacked as Croatia U-17 coach after supporting against Croatian club in Europe
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
(Photo credit: Светлана Бекетова/ soccer.ru/CC BY-SA 3.0)
Former international Robert Jarni has been sacked as Croatia U-17 coach after openly stating he will support Spanish club Real Betis against Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb in their UEFA Europa Conference League clash tonight.
Jarni, 55, who played 98 times for Real Betis between 1995-1998, said in an interview that he will be supporting his former club against Dinamo Zagreb.
This immediately sparked a reaction from Dinamo Zagreb and Croatia striker Bruno Petković who told a press conference on Wednesday ahead of tonight’s clash in Spain, that Jarni was a ‘clown’ for being a Croat and supporting against a Croatian club in Europe.
On Thursday morning, the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) announced that they have sacked Jarni for his comments.
Below is a statement from HNS in full.
“By unanimous decision of the Executive Committee of the Croatian Football Federation, Robert Jarni has been relieved of his duties as the coach of the Croatian U-17 national team following inappropriate statements made in the media.
After verifying the authenticity of Robert Jarni’s statement regarding his support for Betis in their match against the Croatian representative Dinamo in UEFA competitions, the Executive Committee of the Croatian Football Federation unanimously decided that Jarni cannot remain the coach of the Croatian cadet national team.
The Executive Committee of the Croatian Football Federation supports the right of every individual, including footballers – including national team players – to support whichever club they choose, even if it means supporting against Croatian clubs in Europe, although such thinking is not considered desirable.
However, the HNS is very clear that higher standards apply to all Croatian coaches and that it is inappropriate, undesirable, and unacceptable for a person at the helm of a Croatian national team to openly support against any Croatian club in European competition. The HNS believes that this sends an extremely negative message, especially to the players within the national team, some of whom are players from the club against which their own coach supports.
The HNS does not interfere with the football vision of any coach, but promoting unity within the Croatian football family is a prerequisite for successfully leading any Croatian selection.
The Federation has great respect for everything Robert Jarni has contributed to the Croatian national team and has therefore been given the opportunity to lead the Croatian youth national team for the second time.
Unfortunately, on this occasion, he crossed the line to a position that the Federation deems unacceptable because Croatian national team coaches have a clear task to promote unity, cooperation, respect, and mutual trust among all Croatian clubs. Therefore, the HNS considers this decision the only correct one to protect the unity of the Croatian football family.
Jednoglasnom odlukom Izvršnog odbora Hrvatskog nogometnog saveza, Robert Jarni razriješen je dužnosti izbornika hrvatske U-17 reprezentacije nakon neprimjerenih izjava u medijima.
— HNS (@HNS_CFF) February 15, 2024
Izvršni odbor HNS-a podržava pravo svakog pojedinca, pa tako i svakog nogometaša – uključujući… pic.twitter.com/kUVlrEvVp0
The Croatian Football Federation will appoint a new coach for the Croatian U-17 national team as soon as possible.”
