Nino Ivačič, Rogaška’s sport director, in trouble: the Football Referees Association of Slovenia demands disciplinary proceedings

Published on 4. October 2023 4. October 2023

Nino Ivačič, Sports Director
Rogaška
, was not silent after the match against Olimpija. He was indignant, he was critical, he had no hair on his sharp tongue. The trial of referee Alen Bubek, who awarded a controversial eleven-meter penalty at the end of the match in Rogaška Slatina (
it later turned out
that this was not the case), commented both in front of the cameras and in the
in a well-publicised press release
. But it seems that Nino Ivačić has crossed the line.

This is the position of the Football Referees Association of Slovenia, which has written an official complaint and sent it to Boštjan Jeglič, a disciplinary judge of the Football Association of Slovenia. They are demanding that he be subject to disciplinary proceedings and – clearly – that Nino Ivačič be punished for his actions.

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“In conjunction with the unanimous position of the leadership of the Football Referees Association of Slovenia and the members of the NHS Referees’ Affairs Commission, taking into account 1. paragraph 35. Article 6 of the NZS DP we propose to initiate disciplinary proceedings against NK Rogaška representative Nino Ivačić for violation of Article 6/m. Article 10 of the NZS DP and 10. Article 5 of the NHS Code of Ethics or defamation and insult of officials (referees) and the Football Referees Association of Slovenia,“, the UNSSF said in a document signed by President David McDowell.

“The spirit of the Laws of the Game requires all stakeholders to respect the referee’s decisions, as referees must perform their duties in matches safely, which means not only objective safety, but also their subjective feeling that they are safe, and therefore that they will be protected in case of any incidents, both during and after the match, including any penalties that may be imposed. We believe that penalties should have both a punitive and a preventive effect (general and special prevention), and therefore, in conjunction with the high ethical standards and zero tolerance against such acts, the Football Referees Association of Slovenia condemns any disrespectful behaviour by all football stakeholders, and even more so behaviour that poses a threat to the safety of officials at football matches in the future.The Association of Football Referees of Slovenia condemns all disrespectful behaviour by all football stakeholders, and even more so behaviour that poses a threat to the safety of officials at future matches. Such unacceptable acts at the highest level of the Slovenian national championship are undoubtedly transferred to the lower levels of competition, where the level of danger can be much higher. Independence and impartiality are essential principles of the refereeing organisation, which the ZNSS has always strived for and will continue to strive for in order to ensure the regularity of competitions, which is one of the fundamental tasks of the Football Association, and such publications and statements are seriously damaging to the reputation of the referee, the referees as a whole and the management of the refereeing organisation,“, in a letter from Nino Ivačič
made public
on his Facebook profile, added the Association of Football Referees of Slovenia.