A former member of the Croatian national football team comments on the latest events regarding Luka Modrić and Janica Kostelić.
Mario Stanić, a former member of the Croatian national football team, comments on recent developments with Luka Modrić and Janica Kostelić, reports Sportske Novosti on June 18, 2017.
“I have never felt such discomfort in my stomach as I have in these last few days. I am sick from recent events and everything published on social networks, media portals, newspapers. I am sick of gloating and mockery. I am sick of hypocrisy and public condemnation. I am ashamed of myself and of all of us.
I am not some kind of moral authority. I am miles away from holiness. I have countless flaws and fears. I have committed many stupidities in my life, and I keep doing it. Still, there is still some fire left in me.
There is still a little flame of conscience in my mind which does not give me peace. Conscience is my only judge and my only jury. Conscience alone can censor me. Conscience protects me; it gives me comfort. So listen to what my conscience has to say. Janica Kostelić and Luka Modrić are not important in this text. They were just born at the wrong time in the wrong place. This is a text about us.
When Janica was winning gold medals, I felt as though I was winning them myself, and I am sure you felt that way too. When Luka lifted the Champions League Cup, I had the impression that the trophy was in my hands. I have identified with the heroes just like you have. And now, I am sad and disappointed! These days, the two athletes, in a way, have similar tragic fates, they have the same link, they are tied to football, which swallowed its first victims, and some major ones indeed! From hero to traitor – this is a short voyage in Croatia, which is now best known to Janica and Luka themselves.
Janica has recently been verbally abused in our homeland! The painful and defeating statistics says that thousands and thousands of women in Croatia are physically abused because this country has made it possible. This is a country in which beaten women are separated from society and placed in safe houses, while violators are free to walk the streets. This is a country where a herd verbally rapes the unprotected queen of Croatian sport because incompetent and corrupt politicians reward and encourage every form of hooliganism. For over 20 years, we’ve been watching, listening and eating shit in our country, and then we abuse the wrong and unprotected people. Janica was attacked just because she did not clean up all the problems in the football swamp within six months.
She was attacked because the football septic tank has been filling with faeces for over 20 years. Politicians and the state have blessed all the faeces that have been filling the pit. With a few exceptions. She was attacked because she has decided to risk all her career and her entire reputation to help us. She was assaulted because we are dissatisfied, divided and unable to go to the Parliament and the government and say: it is enough! She was attacked because we are brave in the crowd under the influence of opiates, but when we see someone stronger than ourselves, we shit ourselves with fear. She was assaulted because we are brave only on social networks. She was attacked because we are the world champions in making fun of people and being jealous, and she is still more successful and better than us.
She was assaulted because education and society have failed us. She was attacked because we are shit and we look forward to other people’s misfortunes. Her only sin is that she went into politics and paid the price for all the hypocritical politicians. She has experienced the biggest defeat right in her backyard. She had absolutely no chance against such a strong opponent, which is this state headed by politicians like these, institutions like these, as with us as its citizens.
And now something about Luka Modrić, who has been crucified by the entire Croatian public. After the crucifixion comes the resurrection, but only in sacred books. In Croatia, Luka’s body is removed from the cross and put on a sharp stick. We have skinned him as the greatest criminal and barbarian. We have sucked out his blood and expelled him from this land!
We accuse him, write comments, we abuse him at every step. We are taking part in the Croatian champions league in abusing, and we have entered the finals easily. And all of this in a Catholic country where we are taught that everybody who is without sin should cast the stone first and that we should not do to others what we would not like to be done to us. If hatefulness could be exported, we would economically recover instantly. But, wait a minute!
Well, he is not a criminal, he is not the one being tried, he is not guilty that the state and institutions do not know and do not want to protect anyone. He did not train in law, and he does not have any experience in such games and with such players. He simply is not up to this task. He is squeezed between the two sides. One side, the one which is being tried, has so far always been victorious, and the other side, the state, is incompetent and unreliable.
If the state were just, Luka would never find himself in this situation and would not have to go through the lynching of the century. The state and its institutions are the biggest culprits when it comes to why everyone is choosing the other, winning side. Politicians and the judiciary system should be tried and asked about their memory and statistics. We watch every day how those who lead us change their opinions, attitudes and testimonies.
When did our judiciary sanction someone quickly and efficiently? Remind me; I cannot remember, how long do court proceedings usually last? I also have an amnesia from your court files which are piling up and being used when it suits you. How much shit we see in the Parliament, it’s good that we can remember our own names. You have all hiddenbehind Luka, and are now drawing the Croatian historical and sporting tragedy to a close. You have shifted the focus to him, all the burden of this state is now on his back. Luka did what everybody has always done, bowed his head and said he could not remember.
Most would have done the same because this state does not protect the honest and weaker people. What kind of protection can you expect from institutions that have been sending us a message for years that it does not pay to be an honest citizen? Do not be naive; all this is a farce in which actors die, and directors get Oscars and laugh in our faces. In some healthier states, at least some principal ”actors” survive, but not here. So stop this travesty and, if we want to make some changes, then we have to go to the Parliament. We should be brave and organised there; we should invoke justice there. We should ridicule there, ask them in Parliament when this country has ever convicted anyone.
Who has ever returned stolen money? We are disappointed in Luka because we expected him to clean up all the dust of our lethargy. We are unpleasantly surprised because he did not unmask all the strong connections between the state, institutions and football.
Luka is already over-punished and embarrassed. He has been exiled from his country for the second time, but this time I’m afraid it’s forever. No matter what he did, signed, forgot, or pretended to say or do, he does not seem to have the right to even a shred of dignity.
Luka Modrić has not done anything which others have not done before, and it’s not okay to act toward him in this way. We should give Luka a rest and ask ourselves what happened to our backbones. I hope they did not atrophy like our brains. Everyone bears responsibility for their deeds, everyone carries their cross, but this is unacceptable. After all, Luka is mostly being blamed for having denied or changed his testimony, and Saint Peter has denied the Lord, three times! Saint Peter is the basis of our faith, and who knows, we might one day build a new football church with new apostles thanks to Luka. Amen.”
(The views expressed in this article are those of Mario Stanic and do not neccessarily reflect the opinions of the newsportal)
