A former Premier League captain has been axed from his country’s national team and has been criticised for holding the international squad ‘hostage’ in recent months.
Sheffield United defender Anel Ahmedhodzic was born in Sweden to Bosnian parents. He previously made 24 appearances for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team, but will no longer represent the country.
The 25-year-old’s ongoing spat with the national team has reached boiling point after the player decided to reject a recent call-up, claiming there is ‘no reason for him to come and play anymore’.
Now the Bosnian Football Association has announced that Ahmedhodzic will never be selected for international duty again after he ‘made the team suffer’.
The centre-back, who scored twice in 31 games in Sheffield United’s first season in the English top flight last season, has also cut ties with his father.
A former Premier League star has been banned from his country’s national team
Sheffield United defender Anel Ahmedhodzic (left) was born in Sweden to Bosnian parents and previously made 24 appearances for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.
Ahmedhodzic claims his father has done “terrible things to people I love” and claims he took the drastic step reluctantly after his father Mirsad bizarrely claimed his son’s wife Marijana had performed “black magic” on him.
The Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina criticized the star player’s refusal to play in the international team and issued an angry statement saying they were planning to do so.
“An invitation to a country’s national team is a noble act. The crowning achievement of many years of hard work and sacrifice, the dream of every player who wants to achieve a respectable football career,” the statement read.
“But also the dream of every boy and girl who is in love with a magic ball and the most important side thing in the world. Just experiencing the feeling of the call is an incredible feeling. And just running out in your favorite shirt – there are few such experiences that a professional can have in his life.
Ahmedhodzic played 24 games for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team, but will not represent the country again
‘We say clearly and unequivocally: our national team will not suffer because of those who do not want, cannot or do not want to give the best of themselves on the field.
“Our association will not be a ‘hostage’ to the personal relationships of those who promote themselves through the media, name-call and accuse others, thus moving the beautiful game of the most beautiful green field into the domain of mud, gossip and distorted truths,” they added.
‘Whatever they have to say, instead of using words, let them show it on the pitch, in the only place that has always been a benchmark for quality. To those who try to involve us in their personal conflicts, I say to leave us alone to work and create new values for the rise of our football.
‘Being a professional also means taking responsibility for your actions and communicating directly with others, without interference from intermediaries and others who have no other role in the football community than to be supportive,’ the FA concluded.