Banned Bosnia names squad for qualifiers
Reuters - Friday 20 May 2011, 15:22
SARAJEVO - Bosnia coach Safet Susic named
his squad for next month's Euro 2012 qualifiers against Romania
and Albania on Friday despite his country's international ban.
Susic has already said that he will prepare the national
team for the June qualifiers as he believed the suspension could
be lifted in time.
Bosnia was suspended by FIFA and UEFA on April 1 after
failing to end its three-man inter-ethnic presidency which is
out of line with the statutes of the sport's world and European
governing bodies.
The Bosnia federation, formed after the 1992-95 Bosnian war
ended and the country was divided into two ethnically divided
regions, had been run by a three-person presidency whose members
were chosen on ethnic rather than professional criteria.
A Serb, a Croat and an ethnic Muslim held the post for 18
months each under a rotating system.
Since the ban, a FIFA-appointed normalisation committee has
been working to convince soccer officials across the
ethnically-divided country to vote for the new statutes at an
assembly on May 26.
FIFA said last week that both it and UEFA were happy with
the progress being made and confident the statutes could be
approved by the deadline and the ban lifted.
Susic said that Rangers' defender Sasa Papac, who has
boycotted the national team years in protest against the
federation's policy, declined a call-up but might join the
national team next time if new statutes are adopted.
Bosnia, fourth in Group D with seven points from four games,
are scheduled to play Romania away on June 3 and host Albania on
June 7.