After the rejected appeal, reactions are coming from Ljudski vrt: Mariborčani are saddened by how the Football Association of Slovenia (NZS) handled the entire process

Published on 20. March 2024 20. March 2024

Photo: Žan Pak

Since the Slovenian Football Association did not even review Maribor’s appeals regarding the penalty for the incident in Murska Sobota, a response from Ljudski Vrt swiftly followed after the rejection, leaving many issues open and unresolved. Recall that the appeal by the top football organization against the penalty imposed on Maribor was rejected because it was not filed by the authorized representative.

You can read the full response from the club from the Styrian capital in the following statement:

If similar instances of evasion were not encountered in the past, today’s decision would be received with surprise, as it involves, to put it mildly, a bizarre account of the conclusion of the incident in the 21st round match in Murska Sobota. However, it concerns a very serious, too pressing, and painful issue that requires further clarification. In the statement below, we attach the response from NK Maribor upon receipt of the decision.

After receiving the response that the appeal was dismissed solely because it was not filed (signed) by a person authorized to represent the appellant, the competent authorities completely bypassed the substantive (most important) part, and their justifications do not hold true in this case.

The latter claim is entirely unsubstantiated, as Matjaž Kirbiš was expressly elected as vice president of NK Maribor at the assembly held on June 29, 2023, with all the powers of the president, Drago Cotar. In accordance with this resolution, we also amended the club’s statute, which was confirmed by the Administrative Unit Maribor on October 6, 2023. Following the assembly, we reported the change regarding authorized representatives and forwarded its minutes to the Administrative Unit Maribor, along with amendments to the club’s statute in this regard, and in accordance with the aforementioned, based on which the Administrative Unit Maribor issued a decision on October 6, 2023, confirming the amended statute of the club.

Based on the above, we consider it indisputable that the vice president of NK Maribor, Matjaž Kirbiš, was entitled to sign the appeal against the decision of the Disciplinary Judge NZS. The club possesses the entire documentation (decision of the Administrative Unit Maribor dated October 6, 2023, statute of NK Maribor Branik dated June 9, 2023, minutes of the club’s assembly dated June 29, 2023), from which it follows that the vice president has the same authority as the president and is considered the legal representative of the club.

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The meaningfulness of the decision merely represents an evasion of responsibility. NK Maribor lodged the appeal, everything else is misleading the public in a case that concerns not only the amount of the financial penalty or the number of matches in front of the empty stands of the stadium where the most spectators in the country gather but also affects the regularity of both the fight for the top and the fight for survival. In addition, we can highlight two further open questions: how is it possible that the competent authorities needed 13 days from receiving the appeal to identify the “signature error,” i.e., until March 14, when the Appeals Commission met. And another six days until this afternoon to inform the interested public.

With this assessment, NK Maribor as a club is being devalued, and the story as such is far from over. We will immediately inform the appeals committee of the NZS about the aforementioned and expect a reconsideration of the matter and a reopening of the proceedings.

This text was automatically translated using AI.

Author: editorial Football Planet