"I had to set an example for the young players" – Zoran Rakic on refusing to fix a match

Zoran Rakic has played for 12 clubs in his native Serbia since 2009. Last season the 38-year-old returned to his boyhood club and, on the final matchday of the season, the club’s leadership tried to force his team to fix a match. As captain, Rakic resisted and convinced his team-mates that fair play and integrity were much more important than anything else in football.

By Zoran Rakic

I started playing football at RFK Novi Sad 1921 when I was seven years old. Last season, 30 years later, I had the opportunity to return to the club. They offered me the chance to play in the city where I grew up and still live.

People know me in Novi Sad. I have a certain standing. At the club, people came to me with questions or for advice, and I loved to share my knowledge and experience with these youngsters, these kids, because they are so young compared to me. They listen to me.

In the city, people also know me for being involved with various humanitarian activities. For example, during the summer of 2023, one of my friends, Marko Stankovic, and I ran 564 kilometres to support a two-year-old girl, Lenka, who was suffering from leukaemia. Seven days in a row we ran 80 kilometres to help her. We kept a diary on our social media channels. She is doing well currently. Recently, she went to the beach for the first time in her life.

I am not a person who talks about these things, as I don’t want to brag about it, but I can understand that I have earned respect because of all of this.

We had a difficult season and were already relegated with one match to go. Our opponent, FK Mladost GAT, were still fighting against relegation, but they would be safe with a draw or a win. In the days leading up to the game, I heard rumours about the match being fixed and that we would be losing.

I didn’t want to believe those rumours. I immediately addressed them with our coach, and he told me that they were not true. I said that I didn’t want any surprises, and he once again confirmed that nothing was fixed. During a team meeting before our match, he also stated that this was not going to happen.

We started the match very well, but our opponents looked relaxed. I assume they were convinced that they would win the match. But we played hard and fair. Halfway, we were leading 2-0 and had a good opportunity to be up 3-0.

During half-time, the coach and the president entered our dressing room. They told us that we should draw the match or lose. Winning was impossible, they said. At first, I remained silent, but they kept on telling us that we needed to lose. The president even said that he had received orders “from above” that we had to lose. He didn’t mention who it was. He pretended that it was a very important and powerful person. But I was not intimidated.  

I couldn’t stay silent for much longer. I did not want to be involved in fixing a match. And most of all, I didn’t want these young guys to be part of this illegal manipulation.

I stood up and said that I was not going to be part of this. I didn’t want to lose. I told them that we wanted to win. The president kept on urging us to lose, but I remained firm. I was so disappointed and angry. For me, there are no sports without fair play. It is the most important thing in football. It is a game between two teams and in the end, the best team wins. In my 30 years as a player, I have never even received a red card.

I needed to set an example for these young players, and I noticed that the other players were rallying behind me. I was proud of them, and it made me stronger.

When we went back onto the pitch, I immediately walked over to our supporters. I know most of them personally as we hail from the same neighbourhood. I told them that we needed their support more than ever, as our club wanted to fix this match. With their support, we fought until the final whistle, and we won 2-0. Our pride was too strong.

After the match, our season had ended. Initially, the club acted as if nothing had happened. I was still part of the team, and the club even wanted me to continue working with them in a new kind of role.

The Football Association of Serbia (FSS) initially refused to start any investigation, as they said there was no proof of any match-fixing, but only rumours. However, that all changed when a media outlet published a transcript of the dressing room conversation we had with the president and coach at half-time of that match. The FSS then simply had to start an investigation.

Since that publication, I never heard from the club again. The coach was on some television talk shows to state that the recordings were manipulated and to say bad things about me. I couldn’t care less: he could not hurt me. I received a lot of support from family and friends, and even from people I didn’t know through social media. And after witnesses spoke up, the coach stopped talking.  

During the investigation, I and various other players testified with the FSS. And in November, the FSS banned the president and the coach from football for two years, which is the maximum punishment for this violation. It was the first time ever that the FSS sanctioned someone for match-fixing.

I feel sorry for both of them. However, everyone is responsible for their own actions. They probably hoped this case would disappear, but luckily that didn’t happen.  

The club still owes me the last two wages of last season, and I haven’t had any income since. I am hoping to continue my career, but I am not sure if that will happen. If that is the offer that I had to bring, then I am fine with that. I was able to set an example for the younger players and that is much more important.

Players should indicate that these practices don’t belong in football. We have to stand up for ourselves and play fairly. That is the only way to show how beautiful the game of football is.