Thursday Football

16 April 2009

by Jerrad Peters

Red Star fading

Many Red Star Belgrade players are struggling to buy food and pay rent as the once-venerable club teeters on the brink of bankruptcy and dissolution.

Overwhelming debts and a lack of cash has forced the Serbian side to issue small, daily pay packets to its young footballers in lieu of a regular salary. Two players have already tried to flee the country, but were apprehended at the Belgrade airport by club officials. Management is hopeful that supporters will donate the $4 million US necessary to keep the club afloat until the summer.

Given the economic turmoil currently razing Eastern Europe, that's unlikely to happen. But Red Star president Dan Tana is counting on at least 300,000 fans to purchase memberships for roughly $13 apiece. Tana met with his board of directors on Monday to sort out the crisis. He had previously been on a fundraising tour of the United States in a bid to secure financing for the club's debt, estimated to exceed $33 million.

All the while, Red Star's players have bore the brunt of the discomfort. Since arriving from Olympiacos in the January transfer window, Slovenian midfielder Mirnes Sisic has been paid only a portion of his wages and his behind on his rent.

"The landlord came over earlier this week and told me to pay three month's rent I owe him or pack my stuff and leave," he told one of Belgrade's daily newspapers on Tuesday. "If Red Star can't at least give me money for a roof over my head—never mind what the club owes me in wages—I will have no choice but to go back to Slovenia and stay with my parents."

Sisic also admits that his younger teammates face an even more discouraging future at the club.

"Young players are in an even more humiliating position, as we give them daily handouts so that they can buy themselves some lunch and coffee," he said. "I can't believe a club of Red Star's stature has allowed this to happen. It's like the Titanic."

Fed up with the situation in Belgrade, striker Bernard Parker and midfielder Mohammed Awal-Issah made a failed attempt to flee the club in early April. Upon arriving at the airport, however, they were persuaded by club officials to remain in the city.

It's unclear exactly what means of persuasion were used. The officials may have promised to pay the players, or they may have resorted to intimidation and threats. If Parker's recent comments on Kickoff.com are any indication, the latter method is the more likely.

"I was surprised when I saw the story online and some of my friends in South Africa [called] to ask whether it was true," he remarked. "I am disappointed that the story from Serbia went as far as saying I have not been paid [my] full salary for the past three months. I have been given the best treatment and have never missed securing my salary since arriving here. So I don't know where the information came from. I am not in a situation to discuss the team's affairs, but as far as I am aware, there was only one issue involving one player."

Out of touch and strangely conciliatory for a player who made a clear attempt at leaving the Serbian capital, Parkers comments reek of outside influence.

The best-case scenario would have had him make the remarks in order to restore good faith with his employers and gain as much of the money owed to him as quickly as possible. The worst-case scenario would have had him saying what he did because he was threatened or intimidated.

There's nothing comfortable about the financial problems at Red Star. The club is set to lose another title to archrivals Partizan, and frustrations are spreading from the boardroom to the dressing room to the stands.

After losing 2-0 at Partizan on April 8, more than 100 Red Star supporters were arrested after they torched the benches in the visitors' section of Stadion Partizana. Already notorious as some of the most violent fans in Europe, the actions of the Red Star contingent will likely result in a heavy fine when the Football Association of Serbia meets to assess their actions. It's a penalty the club cannot afford.

Despite the difficulties, managing director Ilija Ivic has promised to stay at the club until he either rights the ship or goes down with it. The 38-year-old Olympiacos icon brought several promising young players into the setup at the Greek side before being hired at Red Star after last season. Unfortunately, much of his time has been spent handling creditors rather than up-and-coming talent.

"It would be easy to walk away now, but I'm not a quitter, although I had no idea the situation was so bad when I took over several months ago," remarked Ivic this week. "The basic condition in professional football is to make sure that players have only their accomplishments on the pitch to focus on, but that's not the case here. These problems we are going through have affected the team, and it was unrealistic to expect the players to live up to their potential in what has been a torrid season."

That might be an understatement. Red Star Belgrade is not a fun place to play football at the moment. It's possibly not even a safe place. And until the club's directors can deliver some semblance of financial stability, things are unlikely to change. They might even get worse.

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