Sedloski leaves troubled FK Vardar Skopje

Macedonian football great Goce Sedloski announced that he is retiring as Vardar coach. The announcement come days after Vardar’s main sponsor, Russian businessman Sergey Samsonenko, announced that he is leaving the club.



“I decided that it is best for the club if I resign. I was thinking about this move ever since we lost the return qualifier against Copenhagen. After the defeat to Shkendija in the Macedonian Championship I thought long and hard about the future. These two defeats hurt me badly. I’m not accustomed to losing, and Vardar should not be accustomed to losing”, Sedloski said on Tuesday. 

Sedloski added that he is happy with his results, the two successive championship titles in Macedonia and the win over Malmo to reach the third Champions League qualifying cycle. The move comes days before the first Europa League qualifying game against Turkish Fenerbahce.

Sedloski expressed his gratitude to the players and to Samsonenko, for their support. Samsonenko announced that he is withdrawing from the Vardar football and handball clubs due to the social media outrage sparked by the high prices for the match against Fenerbahce. Samsonenko was also strongly criticized by members of the ruling SDSM party as well as their affiliated media outlets, and this is believed to have contributed to his withdrawal, after the spectacular win in the European Handball Champions League.