The resignation of water polo from the Olympics shows disrespect, contempt | Olympic news

Serbia’s European gold medalists have resigned, saying the union chief is showing disrespect for their efforts.

The head coach of Serbia’s Olympic water polo team has resigned, and 11 European gold medal-winning members have boycotted the team over the actions of the federation’s newly appointed president, the sport’s governing body has confirmed.

The challenge comes after Serbia, one of the world’s leading water polo nations and a gold medalist at Paris 2024, failed to qualify for the July World Cup finals in Sydney.

In an open letter on Friday, the players said that the new president of the association Slobodan Soro “repeatedly sought his words to insult and disparage” what the club has done.

Soro had previously claimed that January’s European Championship win was due to “temporary inspiration” and said the national team was no longer at its previous level.

The comments sparked outrage and led to the resignation of coach Uros Stevanovic and another player strike.

“We decided to leave the Serbian national team as long as Slobodan Soro and his team are in charge,” the players said in an open letter.

They added: “Our gold medals were not the result of a momentary inspiration”, but “years of great dedication”.

The club published the letter on its website, emphasizing that it was signed by “seven former and four current players”.

The organization also said it “does not want to be involved in what is going on in the sports community”.

Soro, a former goalkeeper, was elected president of the association on April 29 and made the controversial comments shortly after his appointment.

He has not yet spoken about the players’ strike. Serbia’s European title came to Belgrade earlier this year following their Olympic triumph.