FK Velež Mostar issued a press release following the reactions that followed the final doubleheader of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup. The Mostar club said that they reject attempts to represent the name of the club and its fans through the prism of division.
We transmit their press release in its entirety:
Due to the public statements and reactions that followed the final two-match of the Cup of Bosnia and Herzegovina, FK Velež Mostar feels the need to address the Bosnian sports public.
FC Velež Mostar will not build its communication on provocations, belittling opponents, political messages or attempts to turn the sports field into a training ground for ideological allusions, raising tensions and national competitions that do not bring anything good to the sport.
This is precisely why we cannot remain silent when the name of Velež, its fans, the city of Mostar, as well as the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina is tried to be represented through the prism of division, frustration and hatred.
We categorically reject such qualifications!
Velež was not born out of hatred, but survived in spite of hatred. Velež survived thanks to love, belonging, pride and people who looked after it even when it was the most difficult. All those who today try to reduce the history of this Club to daily provocations, politicking and superficial evaluations clearly do not understand history, Velež, Mostar, or the core of the existence of our homeland.
We will not run away from the sports result. We have never run away from our mistakes, but our answer will not be excuses. Our answer will always be love, work and commitment to be better.
Yes, we reached out to our opponents. That gesture is not a reflection of weakness, but an expression of dignity, home upbringing, sportsmanship and a clean image that this Club carries through more than a century of its existence.
We did it honestly and sportingly. Not because we can choose what the other side’s response will be, but because we can always choose what we will be.
But when the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina is insulted during the final of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup, and insults and provocations are directed at the opponent after the match, then it definitely does not fall into the category of European, sportsmanlike, and least of all Mostar manners, regardless of how hard our opponent tried to assign such epithets to himself.
Such manners are not proven by big words and PR announcements, but by clear actions. Attitude towards others. Sportsmanship. By respecting the state. By measure. Responsibility.
We firmly and proudly stand behind our IDENTITY, our COAT OF ARMS, HISTORY and libertarian values that generations have proudly carried in their hearts. These are exactly the reasons why this Club lasts and will continue to last.
We stop here. Ahead of us are new matches and the fight for European competitions. Our response will not be a shootout. Our answer will be quality football, work, dignity, a stronger Club and an even greater responsibility towards the name we proudly bear.
FC Velež Mostar continues on its way. Dignified, proud, defiant and always on the right side of history.
Mostar in the heart, Velež to the grave!
(www.jabuka.tv | Photo: FK Velež)
