The 1979–80 Yugoslav First League was won by

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...

Teams

A total of eighteen teams contested the league, including sixteen sides from the 1978–79 season and two sides promoted from the 1978–79

Yugoslav Second League Yugoslav or Yugoslavian may refer to: * Yugoslavia, or any of the three historic states carrying that name: ** Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a European monarchy which existed 1918–1945 (officially called "Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes" 1918–1 ...

(YSL) as winners of the two second level divisions East and West. The league was contested in a

double round robin A round-robin tournament (or all-go-away-tournament) is a competition in which each contestant meets every other participant, usually in turn.''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (1971, G. & C. Me ...

format, with each club playing every other club twice, for a total of 34 rounds. Two points were awarded for wins and one point for draws. NK Zagreb and

OFK Belgrade OFK Beograd ( sr-Cyrl, ОФК Београд – Омладински фудбалски клуб Београд, English: ''Belgrade Youth Football Club'') is a Serbian professional football club based in Belgrade, more precisely in Karaburma ...

were relegated from the 1978–79 Yugoslav First League after finishing the season in bottom two places of the league table. The two clubs promoted to top level were

Vardar The Vardar (; mk, , , ) or Axios () is the longest river in North Macedonia and the second longest river in Greece, in which it reaches the Aegean Sea at Thessaloniki. It is long, out of which are in Greece, and drains an area of around . Th ...

and Čelik.

Events and incidents

Week 25: Death of Marshal Tito, three matches abandoned

Hajduk v. Red Star Belgrade

The season's week 25 derby match, pitting reigning league champions

Hajduk A hajduk ( hu, hajdúk, plural of ) is a type of irregular infantry found in Central and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries. They have reputations ranging from bandits to freedom fighters depending on time, p ...

versus current league leaders Red Star, on 4 May 1980 at

Poljud Stadium Gradski stadion u Poljudu ( en, City Stadium in Poljud), better known as Stadion Poljud ( en, Poljud Stadium) or simply Poljud, is a multi-use stadium in Split, Croatia, which has been the home ground of Hajduk Split football club since 1979. ...

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

was abandoned in the 41st minute due to the announcement of the death of

Marshal Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his death ...

that was followed by a mass display of public grief within the stadium by fans and players alike. Played on a Sunday afternoon, the televised contest was in the 41st minute when three men entered the pitch, signalling to the referee—Husref Muharemagić of

Janja Janja ( Cyrillic: Јања) is a town in the municipality of Bijeljina, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Janja is located in the Podrinje region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Janja is famous for the rivers Janja and Drina. It is the only B ...

—to stop the match and gather players of both teams in the centre circle. With the contest halted, Split mayor took to the stadium's public address system to formally announce to the 50,000+ crowd that the Yugoslav lifetime president

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...

had died. The match score was tied at 1–1 at the time of abandonment with Pižon Petrović scoring on a penalty kick for 0-1 before

Zlatko Vujović Zlatko Vujović (; born 26 August 1958) is a Croatian retired footballer who played as a striker. His twin brother, Zoran, was also a professional footballer. They were both Yugoslav internationals, and both spent a large part of their profes ...

's 1-1 equalizer. Incidentally, the match was the first time Red Star Belgrade played a competitive match at the newly built Poljud Stadium that had opened the previous summer. Sudden scenes of mass crying at the stadium followed Skataretiko's announcement; some players—such as Hajduk's twenty-one-year-old striker

—collapsed down to the ground and weeped as the crowd launched into a rendition of "" ('Comrade Tito, We Give You Our Word'), a popular

personality cult A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create an id ...

song professing loyalty and devotion to Comrade Tito. The

Yugoslav Football Association The Football Association of Yugoslavia (FSJ) ( sr, Фудбалски савез Југославије, Fudbalski savez Jugoslavije, hr, Nogometni savez Jugoslavije; bs, Fudbalski savez Jugoslavije; sl, Nogometna zveza Jugoslavije; mk, Фуд ...

(FSJ) declared the match null and void, ordering a replay for Wednesday, 21 May 1980 at the same venue. Two and a half weeks later, Red Star won the derby replay 3–1.Hajduk-RedStar 1:3, re-play
/ref>

FK Sarajevo v. NK Osijek

Meanwhile, at

Koševo Stadium Koševo ( cyrl, Кошево) is a neighborhood in the municipality of Centar in central Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located between the older parts of the city under Stari Grad and the newer more modern parts of the city under the ...

during the

FK Sarajevo Fudbalski klub Sarajevo (; English: Sarajevo Football Club) is a professional football club based in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is one of the most successful clubs in the country. Founded on 24 October 1946, FK Sara ...

vs.

NK Osijek Nogometni klub Osijek ( en, Osijek Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Osijek or simply Osijek (), is a Croatian professional football club from Osijek. Founded in 1947, it was the club from Slavonia with the most seasons in the Yugoslav F ...

match, the news of Tito's death broke in the 43rd minute with the contest locked at 1-1.

Dinamo Zagreb v. FK Željezničar

The matches – along with a third between Dinamo and Zeljeznicar – were immediately abandoned, with the decision being made by the Yugoslav FA to declare the matches null and void, and order replays two and a half weeks later on Wednesday, 21 May 1980 at the same stadiums.

League table

Results

Winning squad

Top scorers

References

External links

Yugoslavia Domestic Football Full Tables
{{DEFAULTSORT:1979-80 Yugoslav First League Yugoslav First League seasons

Yugo The Yugo (), also marketed as the Zastava Koral (, sr-Cyrl, Застава Корал) and Yugo Koral, is a subcompact car, subcompact hatchback formerly manufactured by Zastava Automobiles, at the time a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav corporation. ...

1979–80 in Yugoslav football