The long-postponed Regional League fixture between Jug Dubrovnik and Primorac Kotor has officially been canceled, with Primorac awarded a 5:0 technical victory. As a result, the Montenegrin side jumps to seventh place in the final league standings—just ahead of Jug.
Originally scheduled for February 10, the match faced multiple delays before the Regional League Board confirmed it would not be played at all. The last rescheduled date was March 27.
Primorac announced the update earlier today:
“The match was postponed several times, and today it was confirmed that it will definitely not be played. With the awarded three points, the Kotor-based team secured seventh place ahead of Jug.”
While the club statement did not elaborate on the reason for the cancellation, it stems from an ongoing disagreement between Croatian clubs and Primorac over the naming of Kotor’s renovated swimming pool, which now bears the name of Zoran Gopcevic—a former national player and 1980 Olympic silver medalist. Croatian sources allege that Gopcevic served as a guard during the Yugoslav Wars in a camp where Croatian civilians and soldiers were held.
In response, Croatian clubs have boycotted playing in Kotor. Ahead of the season, a compromise was reached between the Croatian and Montenegrin federations: Primorac would host Croatian clubs at neutral pools within Montenegro, and Croatian teams would reciprocate by hosting Primorac at alternative venues in Croatia.
However, Jug remained the lone Croatian club to reject this arrangement, insisting on hosting all home games exclusively in Dubrovnik. The league’s governing board ultimately canceled the match in light of the deadlock.
This dispute has had wider implications. The World Cup Final tournament, initially slated for Kotor in April, was relocated to Podgorica after the Croatian federation declared its team would not travel to Kotor. The Montenegrin federation, following advice from the national government, made the venue switch official in late January.
Final Regular Season Standings – Regional League
- Jadran m:tel HN – 57 pts (22 games)
- Novi Beograd – 56 pts
- Radnicki – 52 pts
- Jadran S – 51 pts
- Mladost – 41 pts
- Sabac Elixir – 30 pts
- Primorac – 28 pts (21 games)
- Jug AO – 28 pts (21 games)
- Primorje EB – 20 pts
- Crvena Zvezda – 18 pts
- Solaris – 14 pts
- Valis Vega – 1 pt
Final Four – Herceg Novi (March 28-29):
Semifinals:
- Jadran HN vs. Jadran S (17:30)
- Novi Beograd vs. Radnicki (20:30)