Uefa’s chief football officer has sensationally quit the European football body in protest over new rules that could see president Aleksander Ceferin extend his term limits.
Zvonimir Boban resigned in a statement this morning over what he said would be changes that went against “all the principles and values I wholeheartedly believe in and stand for”.
The current law states that a president can serve a maximum of 12 years at the body and the change was introduced in 2017 by Ceferin.
Boban, who has been at the organisation since 2021, believes Ceferin plans to run again in 2027.
Ceferin said in an interview this week that he had not yet decided whether to run for another term saying, “to be honest, I am very tired.”
“I have spoken with the Uefa president about an issue that arose during the last Uefa Executive Committee meeting in Hamburg,” Boban said in a statement.
“It relates to amendments to the Uefa Statutes which are to be voted on at the next Uefa Congress which is in Paris next month.
“Proposed changes, if approved, will allow the president to stand to be elected again after his current mandate, which according to the current Uefa Statutes should have been the Uefa’s President’s last.
“Despite having expressed my deepest concern and total disapproval, the Uefa President does not consider there to be any legal issues with the proposed changes, let alone any moral or ethical ones, and he intends to move forward regardless in pursuit of his personal aspirations.
“Ironically, it was the Uefa President himself that proposed and launched a set of reforms in 2017 which were introduced to prevent such a possibility. These rules were designed to protect Uefa and European football from the ‘bad governance’ which for years had unfortunately been the ‘modus operandi’ of what is often referred to as the ‘old system’ of football governance.
“The reforms were to football’s great credit, and that of the Uefa President. His shift away from these values is beyond comprehension.
“I fully appreciate that nothing is ideal, let alone myself, and at times compromises may be necessary. However, being party to this would go against all the principles and values I wholeheartedly believe in and stand for.
“I am not alone in my thinking here.
“During the past three years, my relationship and collaboration with the Uefa President, and all my colleagues at Uefa, has been excellent. I am thankful for this, and I wish them all the best.
“It is with sorrow, and a heavy heart, I have no option but to leave Uefa.”