Zvonimir Boban, the Director of Football at the European Football Association (UEFA), announced on Thursday that he will leave his position in protest against President Aleksander Ceferin's move to support changes in the rules that would allow him to extend his term. Boban, a former midfielder for AC Milan and captain of the Croatian national team, revealed his decision in a letter published through Croatian outlet Telesport.
In his letter, Boban expressed, "I am sorry and saddened to leave UEFA." He stated that his decision to resign came after Ceferin supported a proposal to amend UEFA's rules at the upcoming general assembly on February 8 in Paris, which would enable him to run for election again when his current four-year term ends in 2027. Current UEFA rules prohibit the president and executive committee members from running for office more than three times or holding their positions for more than 12 years.
Boban remarked, "It is ironic that Ceferin proposed and initiated a set of reforms in 2017 that were meant to protect UEFA and European football. It is hard to understand his abandonment of these values and the changes to the primary reforms, especially at this sensitive time for football. If I were to accept such a difficult and wrong decision and turn my head, I would be contradicting the principles and values I strongly believe in. I do not play any hero's role, and I know well that many share my opinion; perhaps this is naïveté, but it is certainly the right thing."
Ceferin was re-elected unopposed at the ordinary general assembly of UEFA in Lisbon in April of last year.
