The turmoil in Montenegrin water polo continues, a trend that remains unbroken following the recent elections of the president and vice president of the assembly of the water polo and swimming association.

Dejan Rađenović and Rajko Ćupić received the trust of the assembly, but Primorje’s leadership, represented by president Siniša Kovačević, expressed discontent, highlighting that the Kotor club was not made aware of the presidential candidate for the assembly.

Representatives from Primorje and Qatar were absent during today’s session.

We present the full statement:

“To begin with, I would like to address the scheduling of the extraordinary assembly of the VPSCG, which does not comply with the Statute. Mr. Đuro Marić resigned from the position of President of the Board of Directors on September 9, and the Statute mandates that the assembly be convened within a month following such a resignation.”

“The assembly was called for October 14, despite the insistence of VPK Primorac to hold it at the end of September. The VPSCG director tried to justify this schedule by stating, and I quote: ‘All employees are on collective vacation due to a busy season and didn’t have time to rest.’ This is, to say the least, peculiar, considering the regional Premier League commenced in September, highlighting the necessity for the association to be active.”

Regardless of these issues, the assembly took place today. It is evident that Primorac was uninformed about certain agreements that transpired, particularly not being introduced to the presidential candidate for the assembly. We learned through the media that the candidate was Mr. Rađenović from Budva. While we have nothing against him, it was essential based on prior agreements that we were included in these discussions,” the Kotor representatives asserted.

The members of Primorje also recalled that they had previously nominated a candidate for the president of the Association – the renowned Veljko Uskoković.

“I would like to remind everyone that VPK Primorac openly supported Mr. Veljko Uskoković’s candidacy for the VPSCG presidency. If we refer back to May 2021, after Mr. Marić’s election, he expressed appreciation for gaining the support of VPK Primorac and indicated readiness after part of his term to back the Kotor candidate. I hope that the representatives from PVK Jadran will honor that promise and support our nominee for the Association’s presidency, which I learned from the media is set for November 1. This represents an unfortunate continuation of previous VPSCG policies that yield no benefit for our most decorated sport, especially since VPK Primorac will withdraw from further association activities under these conditions.”

Furthermore, it was added:

“There remains a persistent negative attitude towards the oldest club in our country, the national champion, and a participant in the Champions League. It is apparent that an agreement was reached amongst several clubs regarding the candidates, and during the session, no one inquired about the whereabouts of the Primorje representatives, as they evidently were not deemed necessary. This arrangement aims to exclude Primorje, which detrimentally impacts the VPSCG’s functionality. Nevertheless, I believe a dialogue is essential at some point for the benefit of Montenegrin water polo, particularly between the two premier clubs that form the backbone of the national team: Gore – Primorje and Jadran, followed by others. This, I emphasize again, is not a constructive direction, and the cycle of poor relations from the previous term persists.”

The statement concluded:

“I anticipate that in the near future, we will receive clarification from those who orchestrated this scenario without VPK Primorac and about all actions taken to facilitate Budva’s presidency of the assembly, leaving open the possibility for others to pursue ‘their’ association president. We can engage in discussions, but not in this manner,” Kovačević remarked in his statement.

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