The only remaining match of the regular season in the Regional League between Jug and Primorac, which had been postponed a few times, has officially been canceled. Primorac has been awarded a technical victory with a score of 5:0.
Initially, the game was scheduled for February 10.
“The match was postponed several times, and today it was confirmed that it will definitely not be played. The last scheduled date was March 27. With the awarded three points, the Kotor-based team secured seventh place ahead of Jug,” Primorac announced.
The club did not specify the reasons behind the cancellation, but, the decision made by the Regional League Board stems from a long-standing controversy.
Croatian clubs have refused to play at the Kotor swimming pool since its renovation, as it was named after Zoran Gopcevic, a former national team player. Croatian sources claim Gopcevic served as a guard in a camp for Croatian soldiers and civilians during the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s. Gopcevic, an Olympic silver medalist in 1980, passed away 25 years ago.
The Croatian Water Polo Federation and Croatian authorities have supported the clubs’ stance.
Before this season, the Montenegrin and Croatian water polo associations reached an agreement. The solution was that Primorac would play home games against Croatian clubs at other swimming pools in Montenegro. Reciprocally, the Croatian clubs did not host Primorac at their swimming pools but in other Croatian cities.
However, Jug was the only club that rejected the compromise and insisted on hosting all its matches in Dubrovnik. Consequently, the Regional League Board decided to cancel the game.
The dispute over the pool’s name had an impact on the national teams’ competitions as well. The World Cup Final tournament, scheduled for April 11-13, was initially set to take place in Kotor. However, the Croatian Water Polo Federation announced that its national team would not compete in Kotor. In the end, in late January, the Water Polo Federation of Montenegro accepted the recommendations of the Government of Montenegro and decided to move the World Cup Final Eight from Kotor to Podgorica.
The Regional League, regular season, final standings
1. Jadran m:tel HN 22 – 57
2. Novi Beograd 22 – 56
3. Radnicki 22 – 52
4. Jadran S 22 – 51
5. Mladost 22 – 41
6. Sabac Elixir 22 – 30
7. Primorac 22 – 28
8. Jug AO 22 – 28
9. Primorje EB 22 – 20
10. Crvena Zvezda 22 – 18
11. Solaris 22 – 14
12. Valis Vega 22 – 1
The Regional League Final Four will be held on Friday and Saturday in Herceg Novi. The schedule of the semifinals (March 28): Jadran HN – Jadran S (17.30), Novi Beograd – Radnicki (20.30).
