2 Apr 2011

Bosnia suspended from international football

7:21 am on 2 April 2011

FIFA and UEFA have suspended Bosnia from international competition putting their place in Euro 2012 qualifying under threat, after the country's football federation missed a deadline to reform its presidential system.

Football's world and European governing bodies had asked Bosnia's football federation (NFSBiH) to replace the current system for the presidency, under which a Serb, a Croat and an ethnic Muslim take turns in holding the post, with a single leader by March the 31st.

The NFSBiH congress rejected a motion that would meet that request this week, triggering the suspension.

It means Bosnia may not be able to continue playing their Euro 2012 qualifiers, though FIFA and UEFA said they would meet soon to discuss how to bring the country back into the international fold.

NFSBiH secretary general Jasmin Bakovic said the federation's problems reflected wider political problems in Bosnia.

"We are simply a part of the general society and the NFSBiH is just a mirror image of the state," Bakovic told Reuters.

The worst-case scenario for the Bosnian federation would be to have the suspension extended until the end of the year which would certainly have catastrophic consequences.