{"id":19936,"date":"2016-11-18T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-11-18T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/127.0.0.1\/football-business-and-politics-new-management-agency-takes-over-most-talented-partizan-players\/"},"modified":"2019-09-04T18:23:57","modified_gmt":"2019-09-04T16:23:57","slug":"football-business-and-politics-new-management-agency-takes-over-most-talented-partizan-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/football-business-and-politics-new-management-agency-takes-over-most-talented-partizan-players\/","title":{"rendered":"Football, Business and Politics: New Management Agency Takes Over Most Talented Partizan Players"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIt was the 70th minute of the Serbian football super league match between FC Partizan<\/em> and OFK Beograd<\/em> when the referee stopped the game. In a part of the football pitch with substitutes benches, a player with number 9 on his back was getting ready to go onto the field. As soon as he stepped onto the grass of the stadium in Vra\u010dar, he went down in history as Partizan<\/em>\u2019s youngest debutant ever.
\n\t
\n\tDu\u0161an Vlahovi\u0107<\/strong> was a little more than 16 at the time. Ever since, the media have been referring to him as a player who is bound to leave FC Partizan<\/em>. Names of interested parties, among them the greats of European football, keep flashing by in headlines, whilst his price tag keeps rising. Nothing out of the ordinary for the Serbian football scene where the survival of clubs and satisfying the appetites of managers and players depend directly on their sales. For the most part, the exact transfer figures remain under wraps, but more often than not we are talking here about millions of euros.
\n\t
\n\tThis particular case stands out since the manager of this young football player does not bear a name which would be well-known to the fans. Vlahovi\u0107, as a client, is represented by the International Sports Office<\/em> player management agency which was established in January 2015. Within only two weeks after its inception, Vlahovi\u0107 signed a professional contract with Partizan<\/em>.
\n\t
\n\tFormer player of Serbian and foreign football clubs Branko Radovanovi\u0107<\/strong> and his business partner Dejan Grgi\u0107<\/strong> are the agency owners. Up until last year their names had not come up in public in connection to sales of football players.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t

\n\t\tNovak Nedi\u0107, Serbian Government\u2019s secretary general<\/h2>\n\t\"Novak<\/a>\n\t

\n\t\tNovak Nedi\u0107<\/strong> did not respond to CINS questions about his relations with Dejan Grgi\u0107<\/strong>
\n\t\t
\n\t\tPhoto: Beta Agency<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tAn investigation of the Centre for Investigative Journalism of Serbia<\/em> (CINS) shows that the International Sports Office<\/em> sprang into action at a point when a faction close to the Serbian Progressive Party<\/em> (SNS), including Vojislav Nedi\u0107<\/strong>, a lawyer and the father of the Serbian Government\u2019s secretary general Novak Nedi\u0107<\/strong>, took over a leading role at FC Partizan<\/em>.
\n\t
\n\tAccording to CINS interviewees, Dejan Grgi\u0107 and Novak Nedi\u0107 are friends. In addition, in 2007, Grgi\u0107 replaced Novak\u2019s mother Branislava<\/strong> as the head of branch office of an off-shore company incorporated in Delaware, U.S.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the past, criminal charges of aggravated robbery had been brought against Grgi\u0107, but following several amendments to the charges filed, the prosecutor\u2019s office in Kru\u0161evac dropped the prosecution against him declaring that there was no evidence of the criminal offence having been committed. Earlier Grgi\u0107 had also been labelled in the media as a member of one of the Belgrade criminal groups, the so-called Dor\u0107ol Gang<\/em>, but he flatly denied that this was so.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tOne Brother \u2013 A Coach, Another \u2013 A Scout<\/h2>\n

\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a short space of time the International Sports Office<\/em> agency has managed to attract some of the biggest talents from FC Partizan<\/em>\u2019s youth school, as well as one of the best FC Partizan<\/em>\u2019s players last season Aboubakar Oumarou<\/strong>, now playing for Chinese FC Shenzhen<\/em>.
\n\t
\n\tOn its web site, the International Sports Office<\/em> describes itself as \u201ca sports management and consulting agency\u201d which manages the careers of \u201cwell-established professional players, as well as young promising players with great future in football\u201d.
\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tMilo\u0161 Vazura<\/strong>, FC Partizan <\/em>general manager, said that Novak Nedi\u0107, the Serbian Government\u2019s secretary general and former club official, introduced him to Radovanovi\u0107 and Grgi\u0107. According to Vazura, he knew Grgi\u0107 as Nedi\u0107\u2019s friend.
\n\t
\n\tVazura explained that they struck a deal with FC Partizan<\/em> because they managed to sign up the best young player \u2013 Vlahovi\u0107. This signing spread the news among parents which was why they gained access to other players as well.
\n\t
\n\t\u201cThey didn\u2019t ask for any money when Aboubakar was brought, which was rare,\u201d said Vazura. \u201cAnd we thanked them for it\u201d.
\n\t
\n\tHe went on to say that he was not interested in who was friends with whom. It only mattered to him that the money stayed in FC Partizan<\/em>\u2019s cash box and that it was players\u2019 concern to pick their agent. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\"\"<\/a>\n\t

\n\t\tBranko Radovanovi\u0107<\/strong> (left) and Darko Risti\u0107<\/strong> (right), representatives of International Sports Office<\/em> agency with Uro\u0161 \u0110ur\u0111evi\u0107<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\t

\n\t\t\u00a0<\/p>\n\t

\n\t\tPhoto: Facebook, International Sports Office<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tSome of Vlahovi\u0107\u2019s peers from FC Partizan<\/em> youth branch are also the International Sports Office<\/em> clients, and the agency also manages this season\u2019s newcomer \u2013 forward Uro\u0161 \u0110ur\u0111evi\u0107<\/strong>.
\n\t
\n\tMost of these players played in FC Partizan<\/em> under-15 football squad. The coach of these boys, born in 2000, was Milan Risti\u0107<\/strong>, brother of Darko Risti\u0107<\/strong>, who was named on the International Sports Office<\/em> web site as the agency\u2019s scout until recently, but is now referred to as a director.
\n\t
\n\tPreviously, Darko Risti\u0107 used to work as a PR for FC Vo\u017edovac<\/em>, and Milan Risti\u0107 is currently a coach of FC Partizan<\/em> subsidiary \u2013 FC Teleoptik<\/em>.
\n\t
\n\tAccording to FC Partizan<\/em> general manager Mr. Vazura, Risti\u0107 brothers\u2019 family connections were not a problem, going on to say that Milan was achieving good results as a coach.
\n\t
\n\tBranko Radovanovi\u0107, Dejan Grgi\u0107 and Darko Risti\u0107 did not respond to the CINS requests for an interview.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00a0<\/h2>\n

\n\tGrgi\u0107 and Branislava Nedi\u0107 as Off-Shore Company Reps<\/h2>\n

\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tInternational Sports Office agency<\/em>\u2019s co-owner Dejan Grgi\u0107 is not particularly well-known to the public in Serbia, or in the world of football for that matter. Officially, he is a co-owner of an organic food trading company and the Serbian Business Registers Agency\u2019s data also show previous business links with the Nedi\u0107 family.
\n\t
\n\tDominus LLC<\/em> was established on the 7th of December 2006 in the U.S. state of Delaware, a well-known offshore territory. Excerpts from the local business register point to Vesna Nikoli\u0107<\/strong> from Slovenia as the company founder<\/a>. In January 2007, this company\u2019s branch office opened in Belgrade<\/a>, with Branislava Nedi\u0107<\/strong>, the mother of the Serbian Government\u2019s secretary general Novak Nedi\u0107, as its legal representative. Novak\u2019s name was on one of the payment slips<\/a> whereby an administrative fee for this company was paid to the Serbian Business Registers Agency.
\n\t
\n\tAlready in April 2007, it was Dejan Grgi\u0107 who replaced Branislava as the Dominus LLC<\/em> legal representative<\/a>, and on the very same day the address of the company\u2019s headquarters was changed from Prespanska Street to Pavle Pap Street (now Jelisaveta Na\u010di\u0107 Street). Prespanska Street was the address which Branislava Nedi\u0107 registered when setting up the company, whilst Novak Nedi\u0107 declared the same address as a candidate on the Serbian Progressive Party<\/em>-led coalition list running in the 2012 Zvezdara municipality local election.
\n\t
\n\tThe company\u2019s branch office was closed in November 2011.
\n\t
\n\tUntil April 2014, Novak Nedi\u0107 had been an FC Partizan<\/em> management board member. Even though he submitted his resignation at the time, the media often labelled him as a man of great influence at the club. In October last year, at the FC Partizan<\/em> 70th anniversary celebration, Novak took centre stage in the main hall of the National Theatre<\/em>. His best man, Milo\u0161 Vazura, has been the football club general manager since 2014, but early this year they parted ways.
\n\t
\n\tNovak\u2019s father, lawyer Vojislav Nedi\u0107, used to be a vice-president and, until recently, a member of the club\u2019s working group. He came to FC Partizan<\/em> in late 2014, following a dismissal of the then club management with Dragan \u0110uri\u0107 <\/strong>and senior Socialist Party of Serbia<\/em> (SPS) official Brank Ru\u017ei\u0107<\/strong> at the helm. In 2010, Vojislav Nedi\u0107 was presented to the public as an SNS member, whilst Novak has served two terms in office as the Serbian Government\u2019s secretary general.
\n\t
\n\tNovak and Vojislav Nedi\u0107 declined to speak to the CINS journalists.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tBus Driver Robbery Charges<\/h2>\n

\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the past, the name of Dejan Grgi\u0107 was not associated with football, but it did emerge in the media in October 2007 when he drove injured Marko Filipovi\u0107<\/strong> a.k.a. Taki <\/strong>to a hospital. Soon after, Filipovi\u0107, who was reported to have been a Dor\u0107ol Gang<\/em> member, succumbed to his injuries sustained in a blast of a bomb planted beneath his Mercedes<\/em> driver\u2019s seat. In the aftermath of the bomb blast, the then interior minister Dragan Jo\u010di\u0107<\/strong> said Filipovi\u0107 was a member of a gang involved in racketeering and robberies. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\"\"<\/a>\n\t

\n\t\tMilo\u0161 Vazura<\/strong>, FC Partizan <\/em>general manager, said he was not interested in who was friends with whom. It only mattered to him that the money stayed in FC Partizan<\/em>\u2019s cash box and that it was players\u2019 concern to pick their agent. <\/p>\n\t

\n\t\t

\n\t\t\tMilo\u0161 Vazura<\/h3>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tOn several occasions following this incident, Grgi\u0107 was labelled by the media as one of Dor\u0107ol Gang<\/em> members. After an article was published in Glas javnosti<\/em> daily newspaper, several of them, including Grgi\u0107 himself, contacted the daily and requested a publication of a reply denying their affiliation with the criminal group and claiming that they were students, house painters, floor layers, etc. Grgi\u0107 also argued that he had been previously convicted for stealing only, as a minor.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe documentation acquired by CINS<\/a> shows that a criminal charge was brought against Grgi\u0107 over a 2002 bus driver robbery. The then District Prosecutor\u2019s Office in Kru\u0161evac filed a request for an investigation of aggravated robbery, and following several amendments to the investigation, indictment was filed against Grgi\u0107.
\n\t
\n\tHowever, the Kru\u0161evac District Court requested additional investigation to be carried out after which, in 2004, the prosecutor\u2019s office dropped the charges against Grgi\u0107, declaring that there was no evidence of the criminal offence having been committed.
\n\t
\n\tRade \u0110uki\u0107<\/strong> was also labelled by the media as a Dor\u0107ol Gang<\/em> member. Rade Grgi\u0107 is also name of a business partner of Grgi\u0107 and Radovanovi\u0107, the International Sports Office<\/em> agency owners.
\n\t
\n\t\u0110uki\u0107 is a director of Radovanovi\u0107\u2019s construction company Taurunum Invest<\/em>, whereas Grgi\u0107 took over from \u0110uki\u0107 an ownership stake in Beoinvest Gradnja<\/em> company in September 2013, which subsequently changed its business operation and name into Srna Store<\/em>. Instead of residential building construction, the company is involved today in organic food trade.
\n\t
\n\tIn February 2016, CINS journalists requested data on criminal charges against Grgi\u0107 and \u0110uki\u0107, but the Ministry of Interior refused to grant the request due to concerns over protection of personal privacy. Nonetheless, CINS managed to acquire the documentation related to the aggravated robbery, but featuring only this criminal offence\u2019s description, and not Grgi\u0107\u2019s name.
\n\t
\n\tVladimir Kosti\u0107 participated in the investigation.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

\n\tThe story has been produced under an EU funded grant, awarded in the Media Programme 2014. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the EU.
\n\t<\/em>\"\"  \"\"<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Within little less than two years since its inception, the International Sports Office has succeeded in becoming the management agent of some of the most promising FC Partizan players. Its owners are Branko Radovanovi\u0107 and Dejan Grgi\u0107, who started collaboration with FC Partizan thanks to the signing of a contract with a young talented player Du\u0161an Vlahovi\u0107. On top of this, Grgi\u0107 is also a friend of the Serbian Government\u2019s secretary general and former club official Novak Nedi\u0107.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1117,"featured_media":32202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1492,1593],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-investigative-stories","category-politics-and-sport","ciTrackContent"],"acf":[],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Fudbalski-stadion-Partizan-Foto-Beta.jpg","author_additional":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19936"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19936\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22278,"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19936\/revisions\/22278"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}