"We unanimously decided to withdraw from Serbia's national team as long as Slobodan Soro and his team remain in charge, the players said in an open letter. Our gold medals, they added, were not the product of momentary inspiration, but of years of great sacrifice."
"In an open letter on Friday, the players said new federation President Slobodan Soro had repeatedly sought through his statements to discredit and belittle the team's achievements. Soro had earlier said the European championship win in January was the result of momentary inspiration and said the national team was no longer at its previous level."
"The remarks sparked anger and prompted the resignation of coach Uros Stevanovic and a player boycott. The federation published the letter on its website, while stressing that it was signed by seven former and four current national team players."
"The federation also said it does not wish to take part in what a perfectly normal process within a sports body has turned into. Soro, a former goalkeeper, was appointed federation president on April 29 and made the controversial remarks immediately after his election. He has not yet commented on the players' boycott."
Serbia’s men’s Olympic water polo head coach resigned after 11 members of the European gold medal-winning squad boycotted the national team. The boycott followed comments by newly appointed federation president Slobodan Soro, who was accused of discrediting and belittling the team’s achievements. Players said Soro claimed the January European championship win was due to momentary inspiration and that the national team was no longer at its previous level. The players stated their gold medals came from years of sacrifice rather than brief inspiration. The federation published the open letter and said it did not want to be involved in a normal sports-body process that escalated. Soro had been appointed on April 29 and had not commented on the boycott.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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