The Serbian team that won gold in Europe has resigned, saying the federation president has no respect for their efforts.
Published May 8, 2026
Serbia’s Olympic men’s water polo head coach has resigned and 11 members of the European gold-medal winning team boycotted the team over comments by the newly appointed federation president, the sport’s body has confirmed.
The crisis comes after Serbia, one of the world’s leading water polo nations and gold medalist at the Paris 2024 Games, failed to qualify for the World Cup finals in Sydney in July.
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In an open letter on Friday, the players said the federation’s new president, Slobodan Soro, “has repeatedly sought to undermine and belittle the achievements of the team through his statements.”
Solo previously said winning the European Championship in January was the result of a “moment of inspiration” and that the national team was no longer at its previous level.
The comments sparked outrage, prompting the resignation of coach Uros Stevanovic and a player boycott.
“We have unanimously decided to withdraw from the Serbian national team as long as Slobodan Solo and his team remain in charge,” the players said in an open letter.
“Our gold medal is not the result of a moment of inspiration,” they added, “but the result of many years of great sacrifice.”
The federation published the letter on its website, highlighting that it was signed by “seven former national team players and four current national team players.”
The federation also said it “does not want to get involved in how a completely normal process within a sports organization has changed.”
Solo, a former goalkeeper, was appointed president of the federation on April 29 and made controversial statements shortly after taking office.
He has not yet commented on the player’s boycott. Serbia followed up their Olympic success by winning the European title in Belgrade earlier this year.
