Fredrik Reinfeldt and Andrea Möllerberg.
Photo: Jesper Zerman/Bildbyrån
The news shook European football.
Croatian legend Zvonimir Boban has resigned from his job as UEFA director of football – and not for any reason.
Boban, who was previously seen as a close associate of president Aleksander Ceferin, left in protest against the proposal that the Slovenian initiated before the Uefa congress in Paris.
In an open letter published two weeks ago, Boban called the proposal a “disaster”.
“If I were to accept a decision that is this difficult and wrong, and turn my head away from it, I would be going against principles and values that I deeply believe in”, he writes.
The Croatian is not alone in being skeptical. Ceferin’s move has caused concern in several parts of Europe.
What it’s about?
An opportunity for the 56-year-old Slovene, who took office in 2016, to remain president for more than three terms, for a total of 15 years. That would mean that he exceeds the maximum limit he himself imposed.
The proposal was revealed by British media in December after England’s representative on UEFA’s executive committee, David Gill, reacted during an internal meeting. The headlines then were about “civil war” in UEFA.
But there is no doubt that Ceferin has massive support before the congress in Paris. Those who are skeptical see too little gain in putting themselves in the crosshairs.
At the same time, larger questions are hidden in the background. Criticism of the Uefa president has grown in several directions in recent years and divided the attitude towards him.
This is also noticeable in Scandinavia.
In an increasingly charged political power game, Sweden, Denmark and Norway are drifting in different directions.
Increasing criticism of Ceferin
Who is Aleksander Ceferin?
The lawyer’s path to the Uefa presidency has been surrounded by question marks from the start.
When he was appointed president of the Slovenian Football Association in 2011, he lacked experience of board work in professional football. Five years later, in 2016, he was voted in as the new president of UEFA.
After a series of meetings with Ceferin in the spring, Sweden, together with its Scandinavian neighbors, was the first in all of Europe to stand behind the then unknown Slovenian’s candidacy.
According to Norwegian Josimar, SvFF was attracted by promises that the then chairman, Karl-Erik Nilsson, would get the position of vice-president of Uefa, which he also got in 2017. Nilsson himself denies a settlement.
The Nordic countries’ support was soon joined by a long line of Eastern European nations, including Russia’s.
56-year-old Aleksander Ceferin.
Photo: Thomas Haesler/TT
When Ceferin succeeded Michel Platini, it was with hopes of a more transparent organization and a break from the wave of scandals that plagued Uefa as well as Fifa in the years before.
In recent years, however, the Slovene’s rule has been questioned more and more.
Recruited many from Slovenia
Many question marks surfaced in connection with the 2022 Champions League final, which degenerated into violence, chaos and congestion.
In February of that year, a security consultant, Steven Frosdick, had resigned, complaining that the security department was plagued by crony corruption.
Last year published The Guardian allegations on corruption tendencies within UEFA. Even that one Norwegian newspaper Josimar has told how people who either worked with Ceferin at the Slovenian federation or participated in his election campaign to Uefa have got jobs with the organization.
Zeljko PavlicaCeferin’s best friend, seized the job as Uefa’s head of security without any formal recruitment process taking place.
Slovenians Luka Zajc got a job as head of UEFA headquarters in Switzerland and later became head of Corporate Affairs. He was a partner of Ceferin at the law firm in Ljubljana.
Petra Stanonik Bosniaka judge and industry colleague with personal connections to Ceferin, was given a key role in the organization in 2019.
Ales ZavrlCeferin’s right-hand man at the federation in Slovenia, got a job in Uefa’s “Club licensing committee”.
Vladimir Sain and David McDowell Tor, two former referees got jobs on two committees and have been match delegates at European cup matches. They run a loan company in Ljubljana together.
Ilija Kiticwho was also part of Ceferin’s campaign organization, got a job as an adviser to the Uefa general secretary.
Sweden supports: “His presidency is good”
The Swedish Football Association decided to support Ceferin’s reform proposal last week, which Expressen was able to tell about on Thursday.
It came as no surprise.
The association has had a Ceferin-friendly attitude throughout the Slovene’s time in power.
Karl-Erik Nilsson and the Danish federation’s chairman, Jesper Möller, have both been close to the president since they were elected to the executive committee and jointly took to the stage to propose his re-election at the 2023 congress.
Last fall, Nilsson was forced to resign from the role of chairman of the National Sports Confederation after supporting a Ceferin proposal to reopen youth tournaments for Russian teams, which had been postponed since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
During the winter, the federal board had the Slovenian’s proposal for an extended term of office up for discussion on several occasions. Among other things, chief legal officer Tobias Tibell explained that legally there is nothing to complain about in the change.
In the end, an official decision was made to stand behind it.
– We also support Aleksander Ceferin. His presidency is good for us in Sweden and the Nordics, said general secretary Andrea Möllerberg.
Norway hesitates to support the change
According to information to Expressen, the issue divides opinion in Swedish football’s power stratum. People we spoke to express concern about what the move means for Uefa and question what Sweden gains by staying loyal to the Uefa management. What one actually gets out of the seat on the executive committee is also questioned.
Even Denmark, with Jesper Möller as the federation’s base, gives Ceferin its support. Möller, like Nilsson, is part of UEFA’s executive committee.
Norway’s confederation chairman Lise Klaveness.
Photo: Marius Simensen/Bildbyrån
Norway, with its confederation president Lise Klaveness at the helm, however, is hesitating until the very end.
In several interviews in the past week, Klaveness – who is said to have a good working relationship with Ceferin – has emphasized that she does not want to focus on the president as a person, but that she and the Norwegian Confederation want to feel sure that the change does not limit democracy. She has also expressed doubts as to whether it is “worth fighting” in an issue that they know is settled.
That there are tensions between the Nordic associations has been noticed several times in recent years. Among other things, Jesper Möller reacted negatively to Klaveness’s famous speech in Doha, when she directed harsh criticism at Fifa in matters of human rights.
Ahead of the congress in Paris, the different attitudes of the unions have once again made themselves known.
Sources to Expressen describe how the Norwegian confederation tried to involve the Swedish and Danish confederations in a critical dialogue about Ceferin’s proposal in order to jointly evaluate what Scandinavian football has to gain from the change.
However, the response has been lukewarm. Instead, some irritation has arisen from several quarters.
Andrea Möllerberg admits that Norway had a different approach to the issue
– We have sat together and had our own Nordic meetings. Fredrik (Reinfeldt) has had meetings with Lise Klaveness and discussed. We have had dialogue and discussion with Norway about this issue, she says.
– Initially, the attitude certainly differed, but once the basis came out, we got closer to each other. Then you can have different arguments. I don’t know what Norway will vote. My sense is that we have found more common ground along the way.
UEFA’s congress begins at 09.30 on Thursday in Paris.
Later that day, the groups for the men’s Nations League are also drawn.
2024-02-07 12:01:51
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