An unprecedented crisis has hit the Serbian men's water polo team, one of the world's powers in the sport, as head coach Uros Stevanovic resigned and 11 members of the European championship-winning squad boycotted the national team. The trigger was remarks by the new president of the Serbian Water Polo Federation, Slobodan Soro.
In an open letter published on Friday, the players accused Soro of "repeatedly seeking to belittle and disparage" the team's achievements. Specifically, after being elected federation president on April 29, Soro suggested that the European championship title in January was merely the result of "a moment of fleeting inspiration" and declared that the national team no longer operated at its former level.
These remarks sparked a wave of outrage. Head coach Uros Stevanovic immediately submitted his resignation. In the open letter, 11 players declared: "We have unanimously decided to withdraw from the Serbian national team as long as Slobodan Soro and his group remain in power." They emphasized: "Our gold medals are not the product of fleeting inspiration" but "are the result of years of immense sacrifice."
The Serbian Water Polo Federation posted the letter on its official website and confirmed that the signatories included "seven former and four current players." In a statement, the federation also said it "does not wish to engage in what a routine process within a sports body has turned into."
The crisis comes shortly after the Serbian men's water polo team, the Olympic champion in Paris 2024, failed to qualify for the World Cup finals in Sydney in July. Meanwhile, the European championship (in January 2024, on home soil in Belgrade) was a major title following Olympic success. New president Soro, a former goalkeeper, has not commented on the player boycott.
