1965–66 Yugoslav First League
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The 1965–66
Yugoslav First League The Yugoslav First Federal Football League ( Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...
season was the 20th season of the First Federal League ( sh, Prva savezna liga), the top level
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
league of SFR Yugoslavia, since its establishment in 1946. Sixteen teams contested the competition, with
Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...
winning their first national title.


Revelation of match-fixing from May–June 1964 ("Planinić affair")

Though the events in question had taken place fourteen months earlier, the beginning of the 1965-66 season and subsequently the rest of the campaign were marked by revelations of match fixing from May and June 1964, during the concluding weeks of the 1963-64 season. In late August 1965, two weeks into the new league season,
FK Željezničar FK or fk may refer to: In arts and entertainment: * Flyer Killer, fictional automated robots in the ''Terminator'' film franchise. * Fox Kids, a former American children's television programming block. * Funky Kong, a video game character. Place: ...
, Hajduk Split, and
NK Trešnjevka Nogometni klub Trešnjevka is a professional association football club from the city of Zagreb that is situated in Croatia. Formed in 1926 under the name Panonija, since 1929 the clubs has been known as Trešnjevka. It was promoted to the Yugo ...
were found guilty of fixing matches from two seasons earlier at the end of the 1963-64 season. Their guilt was based on a written statement by the Željo goalkeeper Ranko Planinić who decided to come forward some 14 months after the fact. In his statement, Planinić claims on the record that his club threw matches against Hajduk and Trešnjevka towards the end of the 1963-64 season in return for financial compensation that those two relegation-threatened teams paid in order to avoid the drop. Specifically, Planinić claims that the match played on 31 May 1964 in
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, entertai ...
when Hajduk beat Željezničar 4-0 was fixed, as well as the match on 7 June 1964 in
Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...
when Željo and Trešnjevka tied 3-3. He was in Željo's goal for both matches. Planinić made the information public in August 1965 by approaching the ''Večernje novine'' journalist Alija Resulović who in turn took Planinić's testimony in form of an interview and the piece was published by the paper, circulated in 100,000 copies at the time. In his 2006 book ''Ona vremena'', Resulović claims to have contacted FK Željezničar's president Nusret Mahić right before submitting the piece for print, informing him of Planinić's allegations, seeking comment, and even offering to sit on the information if he (Mahić) thinks it necessary. Resulović further claims that Mahić's response was: "Publish it all! It's all a lie that Planinić concocted as revenge for being fined for an incident he caused at a training session". The explosive testimony immediately erupted in a nationwide scandal that became known as the 'Planinić Affair'. Yugoslav First League had been plagued by rumours of widespread match-fixing on multiple occasions over the preceding decade, however, this was the first occasion that a player came forward and substantiated those claims on the record.


Punishment

On Friday, 27 August 1965, following a fifteen-hour investigative process, the Yugoslav FA's (FSJ) disciplinary body (disciplinski sud) presided over by Svetozar Savić handed out the following penalties: *FK Željezničar's board members, including club president Nusret Mahić, got lifelong bans on performing any football-related official functions. *FK Željezničar's head coach at the time
Vlatko Konjevod Vladimir "Vlatko" Konjevod (1923– 4 December 2005) was a Yugoslav and later Bosnian professional football manager and player. Playing career Club He played for SAŠK, Osijek, Željezničar, Sarajevo, Travnik, Slaven Živinice and Napredak ...
got a lifetime ban from football. *FK Željezničar's players Ivica Osim and Mišo Smajlović each got a one-year ban from football. *NK Hajduk Split's board members, including club president Josip Košto, got lifelong bans on performing any football-related official functions. *NK Hajduk Split's head coach at the time
Milovan Ćirić Milovan Ćirić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милован Ћирић; 12 February 1918 – 14 October 1986) was a Serbian football coach and former player. He was the last player to captain SK Jugoslavija and the first captain of Red Star Belgrade (1945 ...
got a lifetime ban from football. *Two members of NK Trešnjevka's board got lifelong bans on performing any football-related official functions. *NK Trešnjevka's club president Ivan Bačun and technical director Marjan Matančić got disciplinary motions started against them. *NK Dinamo Zagreb's general secretary Oto Hofman got a lifetime ban from football for acting as a go-between for Željezničar and Trešnjevka. Disciplinary body president Svetozar Savić also announced that the investigation had revealed that Željezničar was paid YUD1.5 million by Hajduk Split, and YUD4 million by Trešnjevka for these matches. Some of the money Trešnjevka paid was obtained from the
Zagreb Fair Zagreb Fair ( hr, Zagrebački velesajam) is a complex of exhibition pavilions in Zagreb, Croatia. The company which operates the venue carries the same name. The Zagreb Fair is the main venue in Zagreb for trade shows and fairs. Every year more t ...
where some of Trešnjevka's board members were employed at. As a reference point, the price of a daily newspaper at the time was YUD40. Furthermore, NK Hajduk Split, NK Trešnjevka, and FK Željezničar were relegated to the
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 ...
's Western Division, effective immediately. The decision further entailed reorganization of the 1965–66 Yugoslav First League that was already two weeks into its run via reducing the number of clubs from 16 to 13 and voiding all the 1965-66 Yugoslav First League matches played by Hajduk, Trešnjevka, and Željezničar up to that point (6 matches in total). It also meant expanding the 1965–66 Yugoslav Second League Western Division from 18 to 21 clubs. The draconian punishment caused widespread shock and approval among the Yugoslav public with each of the FSJ's six sub-federations except for SR Croatia's expressing strong support of the decision. Fans of Hajduk, Trešnjevka, and Željezničar organized street protests in their respective cities with the Split demonstration being the most attended. The three clubs quickly lodged an appeal with the FSJ.


Appeals

On Friday, 9 September 1965, the Yugoslav FA's appeals commission announced its decisions. The main punishment for the three clubs was reduced to points-deduction. Željo, Hajduk, and Trešnjevka were docked 6, 5, and 5 points, respectively. All of the individual punishments for players and club management members were upheld.


Aftermath

As a result of having 6 points docked and missing two of their best players for most of the 1965-66 season, Željezničar spent the majority of the league campaign in a desperate fight to avoid relegation. Towards the end of the season, for the deciding league matches in Željo's survival fight, their star player Ivica Osim had his ban lifted by the FSJ ahead of the expiration of its length. In the second last week of the season on 12 June 1966, Osim's goal at Radnički Niš in a 0–1 away win in
Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...
effectively kept Željo in the First League. Over the decades since, Planinić's motivation to become a
whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
has been aggressively questioned by journalists close to the punished clubs. After he blew the whistle, the tone and framing of press write-ups referencing Planinić in various Sarajevo and Split-based print media outlets ranged from dismissing his claims outright to insults, insinuations and speculation about his decision to come forward being made out of spite, hurt ego, or personal vendetta against his club because supposedly his summer 1965 off-season contract negotiations with FK Željezničar stalled or because he had lost the starting position in Željezničar's goal to teammate
Vasilije Radović Vasilije Radović (, 10 September 1938 – 25 March 2019) was a Yugoslav football former goalkeeper and manager. He was born in Montenegro, but spent most of his life in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Radović (nicknamed "Čiko") had also mad ...
.


League table


Results


Winning squad

Champions: *
FK VOJVODINA Fudbalski klub Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Војводина), commonly known as Vojvodina and colloquially as Voša ( sr-Cyrl, Воша), is a Serbian professional football club based in Novi Sad, Vojvodina, the second l ...
(coach:
Branko Stanković Branko "Stane" Stanković ( sr-Cyrl, Бранко "Стане" Станковић, ; 31 October 1921 – 20 February 2002) was a Bosnian Serb footballer and manager, from Sarajevo. Playing career Club He started his career in SK Slavija Sarajevo ...
) players (league matches/league goals): * Silvester Takač (30/13) * Vasa Pušibrk (30/2) * Ilija Pantelić (30/0) -goalkeeper- * Vladimir Savić (29/5) * Žarko Nikolić (29/4) * Ivan Brzić (29/0) * Stevan Sekereš (29/0) *
Dobrivoje Trivić Dobrivoje Trivić ( sr-cyrl, Добривоје Тривић; 26 October 1943 – 26 February 2013) was a Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Ce ...
(28/7) * Mladen Vučinić (26/0) * Đorđe Pavlić (18/8) * Stevan Nestički (17/0) * Dimitrije Radović (16/1) * Radivoj Radosav (12/4) * Adolf Lambi (8/2) * Veljko Aleksić (4/0) *
Đorđe Milić Đorđe Milić ( sr-cyr, Ђopђe Mилић; also transliterated Djordje Milić; tr, Dorde Miliç; born October 27, 1943) is Yugoslav professional football manager and former player. Career He played for FK Vojvodina and Red Star Belgrade bef ...
(3/1) * Tonče Stamevski (3/0) *
Rajko Aleksić Rajko Aleksić (; born 19 February 1947) is a former Yugoslavia, Yugoslav and Serbian Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender. Career During his active years, Aleksić played for FK Vojvodina, Vo ...
(2/0) * Branislav Veljković (1/0)-goalkeeper- * Anđelko Marinković (1/0) * Dragan Surdučki (1/0) Source:Stats from Vojvodina official site
/ref>


Top scorers


See also

* 1965–66 Yugoslav Second League *
1965–66 Yugoslav Cup The 1965–66 Yugoslav Cup was the 19th season of the top football knockout competition in SFR Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav Cup ( sh, Kup Jugoslavije), also known as the " Marshal Tito Cup" (''Kup Maršala Tita''), since its establishment in 1946. ...


References


External links


Yugoslavia Domestic Football Full Tables
{{DEFAULTSORT:1965-66 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. ...
1965–66 in Yugoslav football