Montenegrin who played for SC Gjilani finds a club in Serbia, but Serbian federation did not register him as a footballer

Montenegrin defender Marko Roganovic, who recently played for SC Gjilani, was supposed to play for ambitious second-division Serbian side Dubocica, but the transfer fell through at the last minute, even though he had trained intensively with the team from Leskovac.

What happened? The “problem” is his previous club, Gjilani from Kosovo, reports the Montenegrin outlet Vjesti.

“I even signed a contract with Dubocica, but when they needed to register me, they didn’t have the necessary certificate,” said 26-year-old Roganovic.

 Marko Roganovic during his time at SC Gjilani

The defender has explained the procedure and the difficulties he faced with the Serbian Football Association over a release certificate.

“They told me I was the first player who had to transfer from a club in Kosovo to a club in Serbia. For the transfer to go through, the Serbian Football Association has to request a certificate from the Football Federation of Kosovo; it is literally a formality and is done with every transfer, but when they had to request it, they found themselves in difficulty because Serbia does not recognize Kosovo or any of its institutions, not even its football institutions,” said 29-year-old Roganovic.

The defender, who has previously played for Buducnost, OFK Titograd, Laçi and Uta Arad, explains what was thought of doing after the direct transfer fell through.

 Roganovic at Laçi

“The Serbian Football Association didn’t know what to do—the option was for me to register with another club, in another federation, and then for them to bring me back, but it seems this can’t be completed during a transfer window, and we didn’t want me to risk a FIFA suspension either,” Roganovic points out.

FIFA, however, recognizes the Football Federation of Kosovo and might be able to “sort out” the whole issue.

“This is now a procedure, and in any case, a lot of time has passed; it is already October. Maybe I’ll wait until December, perhaps a new club will come along, and maybe then I’ll be able to register with Dubocica.”

 Marko Roganovic at UTA Arad in Romania

“I really liked Leskovac, a new stadium, an ambitious club that wants to advance to the top flight. I even moved there with my family, but we had to return and wait a little longer,” the Montenegrin defender concludes.