UEFA’s Chief of Football, Zvonimir Boban, has announced his departure from the European football governing body in protest against President Aleksandar Ceferin’s endorsement of proposed changes to statutes.
These changes would potentially enable Ceferin to extend his term in office. Boban, the former AC Milan midfielder and Croatia captain, shared his decision in an open letter published on the Croatian website Telesport.
In the letter, he expressed regret and sadness about leaving UEFA.
Boban clarified that his departure is prompted by Ceferin’s support for a proposal aiming to modify UEFA’s rules, allowing him to seek re-election when his initial four-year term concludes in 2027.
Currently, UEFA’s regulations restrict the president and members of the Executive Committee from running for office more than three times or holding their positions for more than 12 years.
“Paradoxically, it was Ceferin who proposed and launched the package of reforms in 2017 that were supposed to protect UEFA and European football,” Boban said.
“His departure from these values and changes in the main reforms are difficult to understand, especially in this delicate football time.
“If I were to accept such a difficult and wrong decision and turn my head, I would be going against the principles and general values in which I deeply believe.
“I am not playing any hero, and I know very well that many are of the same opinion—perhaps naive, but certainly correct.”
Ceferin was re-elected UEFA president unopposed at the governing body’s Ordinary Congress in Lisbon in April last year.