Uefa has been plunged into turmoil after Zvonimir Boban, the former Croatia international who was one of its most senior executives, abruptly quit in a protest at plans to let its president and other elected officials extend their terms in office.
Boban’s move could open the way to a potential challenge by him to Aleksander Ceferin for the Uefa presidency in 2027, though sources close to the Croatian insist that it is not in his mind at the moment to do so — and that he resigned as a matter of principle.
The 55-year-old former AC Milan midfielder had been a close aide of Ceferin and was his right-hand man during the European Super League crisis, so his resignation as the organisation’s chief of football will be a heavy blow.
The resignation follows England’s David Gill speaking out against the term limit plans at a Uefa executive committee meeting in Hamburg last month. The statute changes are due to be voted on at Uefa’s Congress in Paris on February 8 and would allow Ceferin to remain in power for 15 years instead of 12, and for other executive committee members elected before 2017 to remain in their positions for longer.
Gary Lineker called Boban “a man with principles and dignity” on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Boban said in a statement released to The Times: “It is with sorrow, and a heavy heart, I have no option but to leave Uefa.
“Despite having expressed my deepest concern and total disapproval, the Uefa president does not consider there to be any legal issues with the proposed changes, let alone any moral or ethical ones, and he intends to move forward regardless in pursuit of his personal aspirations.
“Ironically, it was the Uefa president himself that proposed and launched a set of reforms in 2017 which were introduced to prevent such a possibility. These rules were designed to protect Uefa and European football from the ‘bad governance’ which for years had unfortunately been the modus operandi of what is often referred to as the ‘old system’ of football governance.
“The reforms were to football’s great credit, and that of the Uefa president. His shift away from these values is beyond comprehension.”
Term limits of 12 years were brought in to Uefa in 2017, a year after Ceferin, a Slovenian lawyer, was first elected. They were part of much-needed reforms to Fifa and Uefa following the scandals that engulfed Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter.
The amendment would clarify that Ceferin’s first three years in office would not count against his term limit of 12 years as it was a partial term, completing that started by Platini. A similar move has already been enacted by Fifa for its president Gianni Infantino so that his first three years do not count against its 12-year term limit.
Boban added: “I fully appreciate that nothing is ideal, let alone myself, and at times compromises may be necessary. However, being party to this would go against all the principles and values I wholeheartedly believe in and stand for. I am not trying to be some sort of hero, especially as I am not alone in my thinking here.
“During the past three years, my relationship and collaboration with the Uefa president, and all my colleagues at Uefa, has been excellent. I am thankful for this, and I wish them all the best.”
Uefa released a statement saying: “Uefa wishes to announce the departure of Zvonimir Boban from the organisation by mutual agreement. Boban joined the organisation in 2021 as the chief of football and initiated several significant projects in technical development, including the establishment of the Uefa football board and the youth football forum.”
Ceferin said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph this week that he had not yet decided whether to run for another term. “To be honest, I am very tired,” he said.
