Croatian first division side Karlovac went on strike and refused to travel to a league match with Rijeka on Sunday in protest over not being paid their wages for seven months.
“I spoke to the Karlovac team president around noon and he told me the players had decided not to play,” Rijeka president Robert Komen told Croatian media on Monday.
“It’s a pity because fans had turned up to see the match and it’s always sad when they are deprived of action through no fault of their own.”
Karlovac, who are second bottom in the 16-team league, are the first team in Croatia to go on strike by boycotting a match over unpaid wages.
Should they do the same against Istra next weekend, they will be automatically relegated to the bottom tier of Croatia’s football pyramid.
Rijeka, who are 11th in the first division, will be awarded a 3-0 walkover win and the club has also decided to grant free entry for their midweek cup tie against Osijek to all fans who bought tickets for the match with Karlovac.
Karlovac players already demonstrated their discontent last month when they sat down for two minutes along with rivals Sibenik straight after their league game kicked off.
Karlovac captain Matija Stefancic said he was against Sunday’s boycott but felt he had to side with his team mates.
“I wanted to play but 99 per cent of the players didn’t and I had no choice but to support them,” he said.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen next, I have never been in this situation in my 15-year professional career.”
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