Fifa suspends Bosnia-Herzegovina Last updated Friday, 1 April, 2011
By Eastsportsonline Desk
The Federation of International Football Association have suspended Bosnia-Herzegovina after refusing to comply with the international football governing body's regulations.
The Bosnian Football Federation had been ordered to change its three-man presidency into one single position by both Fifa and European body Uefa.
But the move was rejected at a NSBIH meeting on Wednesday, prompting Fifa to take immediate action.
The suspension means Bosnia cannot play any international matches.
They are currently fourth in Group D of the 2012 European Championships qualifying campaign, five points behind leaders France and a point behind Belarus and Albania but with a game in hand over their rivals.
"Fifa and Uefa deeply regret that this decision had to be taken," the governing bodies said in a joint statement on Friday.
Although Fifa tolerated the system because of the deep ethnic divisions following the war with neighbours Croatia and Serbia in the 1990s, the world governing body demanded the FFBIH fall into line with the rest if the world in October last year.
The federation was given a 31 March deadline to comply, but the move was rejected at a meeting in Sarajevo on Tuesday by the Bosnian Serbs, who opposed the single-president plan because of fears it would jeopardise their autonomy after 28 of the 53 NFSBiH representatives voted against the motion.
Fifa could install an emergency committee to run emergency panel to run the federation for 12 months, a process which has been used in El Salvador, Kuwait, Senegal and Samoa.
