League set for restart in Serbia

All sporting competitions in Serbia and Montenegro will resume this week after a temporary suspension following the assassination of Serbian prime minister Zoran Djindjić on 12 March.

State of emergency
The day of the prime minister's assassination the Serbian government introduced a state of emergency, restricting freedom of movement and public gatherings, including sports events.

'Football starts immediately'
The Prva savezna liga will resume with the 22nd round, while the 21st round, suspended last weekend, will be played on 16 April. "We had an order to suspend all competitions, and we did," said Branko Bulatović, the general secretary of the Serbia and Montenegro football Association (FSSCG). "Now we have a new order to continue playing. Therefore football starts immediately."

Police rights
The police have reserved the right to postpone certain matches if it is deemed that a fixture is of a "high security risk" or the gathering constitutes a "dangerously high number of supporters". Such a postponement would be announced by the police 24 hours ahead of the scheduled match.

Internationals go ahead
"We agree with that and we will help the police determine these high-risk matches," said Bulatović. "The decision on eventually emptying the stands lies with them." Bulatović also announced that the planned friendly international against Bulgaria on 27 March and the UEFA EURO 2004™ Group 9 qualifier against Wales on 2 April will go ahead as scheduled.