It was the day of big changes in Hajduk’s leadership, sackings and resignations were thrown around, leaving us thinking if it is real, or just a prank.
Of course, Zdravko Mamić was not in the meeting with Hajduk board, and did not offer any help; we came up with that April Fool’s prank as we were waiting for the results of the meeting between Split Mayor Ivo Baldasar and Hajduk leadership on April 1. 2016.
Meeting was brief, but while waiting for the members of the supervisory board it was clear that something is cooking up, as those members of the board who planned the change of the president came together with Guste Santini, who was considered a swinging vote. After meeting with the mayor, no one was ready to talk with us, apart from Mr. Ivan Rilov, chief secretary of “Our Hajduk”, members organization in charge of the elections in Hajduk.
As there is often a mix up when talking about their authority over the supervisory board, Ivan Rilov was clear; “We are here just to make sure that the procedure is followed, we had the elections, and the elected people have full freedom to do what they think is best for Hajduk. We only asked them to be on high level of conduct, appropriate for Hajduk.”
Mayor Baldasar said that the meeting was good, he got all the information he needed, but did not want to answer the question about his satisfaction with Hajduk’s leadership. He told the press to ask the members of the board that question.
The supervisory board moved from the Mayor’s office to Poljud to continue its session which started two weeks ago and was stopped as there was a stalemate over the decision about the future position of President Marin Brbić and Sport Manager Goran Vučević. First decision was somewhat expected, as Mr. Brbić was relieved from his post as president, but there was a unanimous vote of confidence for Mr. Vučević
Then the president of the supervisory board, Mr. Ljubo Pavasović Visković announced his resignation as the chairperson of the board, explaining that he does not want to follow the direction in which Hajduk is now heading; Mr. Slaven Marasović was voted as his successor. As if this was not enough changes for one day, Mr. Vučević entered the meeting and resigned from his position, stating that he cannot continue his plan with two of his closest co-workers gone. Chief of Youth school, Mr. Srđan Andrić followed his move, also resigning.
There were mixed feelings among Hajduk supporters after all this went down in just one day. While it is clear that the procedure was followed, there is a lot of sympathy for President Brbić, as he has done an excellent job in saving Hajduk from liquidation. He even said he is proud of the fact that he was relieved on the very day Hajduk has paid all its debts to the employees.
One thing is sure; Mr. Brbić is leaving Hajduk in a sound financial position, and his successor will have a much easier job in that area. Even Mr. Marasović, who lead the vote to dismiss him, praised Brbić’s work while explaining the decision to the media. The new acting president will be elected next weekend, but all the board members have stated that the new president will be chosen in a public tender, which will be announced as soon as possible.
